Gate of Dawns Rising
by AuthorKylie
Summary: Daniel knew he'd discovered something incredible—he just didn't realize it was so incredible it would lead to uncovering the truth behind Earth's ancient technologically advanced history, or that it would mean teaming up with two young men hell bent on defeating the Goa'uld because of their immortal curse. Oh...maybe he really should call Jack now.
1. GoDR Prologue

**Gate of Dawn's Rising**

Yugioh Stargate Crossover

By AuthorKylie

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Prologue

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The lonesome cry resonated through the tight lips of the valley, the sweet call of his god-bird was lifted to the heavens, and its proud wings were spread to the pure blue sky. Atemu eased his steed to a slow halt, catching sight of the magnificent eagle gliding the air-currents. It was little wonder they had found such inspiration for building their space-gliders from the god-birds, their ability of flight was so magnificent and princely. His god-bird flew wide, arching across the Hidden Temple of Pillars, carved centuries ago by unknown hands into the rock formations of the valley.

Atemu breathed in deeply, wincing at the ache from the wound deep in his side, under his plates of golden armor. Only once before had he been witness to the wondrous sight of the Hidden Temple and that had been in a Maze Dream, in which he had walked the long, treacherous path of the Shadows, through the dimensions to learn of the veiled roads through this very Egypt.

Seeing it in reality before him evoked a spine tingling chill.

The great pillars of stone were each individually carved, intricate to the finest detail; so much so that he knew not even his most skilled stone-mason could achieve the feat even with their crystal lasers. They told stories of the Truth-gods, of their journeys through time and space, and of their gift of giving the Shadows to their beloved children, the Cattle of Re.

Fifty pillars ran up the sides of marble stairs, leading to the Temple gates, formed from the side of the valley wall. The opening was a hole that beckoned to swallow him and his tiny, insignificant form. He chewed on his bottom lip, an awful habit left over from childhood that his mentor had never been able to spank out of him, and idly he played with the Golden Inverted Pyramid around his neck. Surely it was enough proof to the Truth-god Re that he was his holy-blessed Son and was worthy to enter into the Hidden Temple?

He climbed off his horse, cobbling her and removing his sword from the saddle, strapped it around his waist. Hesitantly he approached the paving leading to the first of the pillars.

"Your majesty! I do wish you wouldn't go running off like a jackal."

Atemu stirred from his daze, hearing the cantering of hooves and the snorting of a stallion. He turned, watching as Alekifa, his First Prime, dismounted and swiftly joined him at the temple steps.

"I know you're anxious to get on with this, but come, now, I am supposed to be looking after your sorry royal arse. Your newest wife will have my hide if your manhood is stolen from you before she can have her way and seal the deal."

Atemu rolled his eyes. "I should never have signed that treaty. I do not need another planet to worry about."

"We need the military aid they can supply, besides…this girl might give you an heir."

"You sound like Seth. Ever thought to consider that I might actually be the one who is barren and not the poor women?" Atemu spread his hands. "Everyone is too concerned over that fact that I am one of the children of the gods and therefore I cannot possibly be a fault for not having an heir! Why is it never my fault? At least once in my life I should be the one to blame, for something."

Alekifa shook his head. "I do blame you, for everything."

Atemu sighed heavily. "I apologize, old friend, for making you come with me to this place." He glanced toward the Hebrew. It was always an effort to look up at Alekifa, who was at least three heads taller than he was. Despite their differing loves of opposing gods, they treasured the same land—this very Egypt—and they had been wronged by the same false-gods. Their differences meant nothing in comparison to the vastness beyond the tiny speck of their world and not even Alefkia's crimes as a Thief King robbing star-liners tarnished their comrade love for each other. They would die together, that bond was written in the stars, decreed by the Priestesses of Thoth.

Alekifa dusted a hand through his white hair, revealing his bloodied cheek. The nasty wound Atemu himself had washed and stitched. That the Jaffa minions of Zorc they had met upon the holy-road to the Hidden Temple of Pillars had managed to mark Alekifa was a distasteful thought. Alekifa was one of the fastest men in the galaxy, his speed like that of the deadly _Simoon _winds. In battle few missed the rage of his blades, nor the swiftness of his Shadow Monsters.

Atemu rubbed at his own wounded side, knowing full well that the _rot _was beginning to sink into the flesh to fester within it. They were running out of time.

He muttered a quick prayer under his breath, hoping he washed it as his mentor had instructed. The last thing he desired on this quest was for himself and his First Prime to be cursed by Seth's evil hand due to their ill looked after wounds. Exhaustion was clear on Alekifa's features, as clear as it must have been on his own. He felt weary, his muscles stretched beyond their endurance. The gray shadows had claimed the rims under his eyes, making dark the lines of age. Alekifa was the bane of his harem but looking upon him now, muddied, bloodied and boiled by the harsh Sun, he wondered if any of his dozen or so bastard children would even recognize him if he went strutting around the Palace of Aknamkanon. They both looked so old, so worn and frayed to the state of death. Their youth had been stolen from them long ago, when they had sworn to win a war beyond their abilities of conquest. What foolish boy's they had been, facing down the wrath of false-gods who had sunk their teeth into their great nation for generations.

"Just because I do not believe in your gods, Pharaoh, does not mean I do not believe in you. Your foolishness has won us many battles and saved many planets, I pray it shall save ours also." Alekifa wiped sweat from his brow.

Atemu checked his _shadow-gauntlet_; the golden device's energy was drawn from the Dark Dimension and pulsed into his veins. Truthfully the Shadows were another of the reasons why his advisers so desired him to father heirs—so he could pass on the abilities to weld the Shadows to future generations, for it seemed the abilities of manipulating the particles of differing dimensions was fading with each passing age.

Alekifa stopped at the entrance and Atemu noticed he was trembling slightly. No matter how much his First Prime insisted that he had no belief in the gods of Egypt, there was no denying that something powerful, something beyond their understanding, had created the Hidden Temple of Pillars. It could be felt in the ground under their feet, a strange sensation that sunk into the soul, shaking the spirit to the core.

"Now," Alekifa breathed out, "let's see if anyone is home."

"He will come." Atemu insisted. "I am his divine son. He will come."

"Your dreams haven't been wrong before so I don't see why this one would be." Alekifa motioned to him and together they entered into the darkness.

"I do not know why you have such faith in me brother." His skin felt aflame with heat worse than that of the scorching burn of a _crystal-song_ drive. He concentrated, calming his palpitating heart, and lavishing his skin in the seeping coolness of his Shadows just as his mentor had taught him long ago, in their long walks across the deserts of this very Egypt.

"Because you are Egypt's life-force." Alekifa's voice spoke through the gloom. It lasted only a split moment before the rainbow burst of crystalized sunlight flared all around them as they stepped into the domain of pure light.

His Shadows hissed within him, boiling his blood. Atemu flinched. He heard Alekifa swear a string of cusses. The First Prime must have been hushing his own Shadows, which were far more temperamental than his.

Columns and shards of mammoth gemstones towered high to a ceiling of glass, domed in an arch that captured the sun and bathed the world in a glorious shimmer. Yet all the radiance seemed to be directed entirely at one center spot, leading their eyes and their feet toward a carved statue rising out of cascading water dancing freely from a bubbling spring.

The sound was delightful, like the giggling of children. Atemu smiled, his chest swelling in delight. He knelt at the edge of the fountain, scooping the water into his dirty palm, watching in fascination as the grime and blood that crusted his skin was dissolved.

"I don't know if touching the holy-water is all that great an idea." Alekifa griped.

"Just because you are not permitted into your Holy of Holies doesn't mean I am not." Atemu smirked, flicking the water at the First Prime.

He scooped up more, washing his face and relishing in the coolness that flushed away all his pain and aches before he drank greedily. It didn't take long before Alekifa joined him, taking a moment to refill their depleted skins.

Alekifa peered up at the statue, "I still feel like it's being disrespectful."

Atemu splashed water at him again. "I am Pharaoh, I can do what I wish."

"I see, then, if you won't thank him, I shall." Alekifa shook his head bitterly, stowing away his water-skin and kneeling before the statue. Atemu studied him, amazed at the white haired general kneeling before the ancient statue of the Truth-god R: the monument carved from gemstone forged deep in another distant galaxy. If it resembled their god they truly did not know, but its slender shape, its slanted eyes, and eerie stare was all they had for reference to the creator and giver of the Shadows.

He eased down beside Alekifa, bowing his head. It meant a great deal that his beloved friend would thank a god he did not believe in.

"_You are both most welcome."_

Atemu sucked in a gasp, almost choking on the air.

Though every inch of him, every clawing scratch of his Shadows, screamed at him to not open his eyes, he did, for he had too. Nothing could deny him the chance to see what had spoken with such a calm and beautiful sing-song voice as peaceful as the tide of the flowing Nile.

The breath of light graced his vision with a flutter of dancing dust that haloed a petite and small form shaped from molten sunlight, radiating folds of cosmic energy. Was this Re?

Alekifa rose to his feet. Desperately he wanted to berate his First Prime, demand that he get back on his knees before the Sun-god, but all speech had dried up on his tongue, it felt as if it had swelled into a giant ball in his mouth.

"Lord Re, Ruler of Time and Space, it is an honor." Alekifa drew his sword, placing it neatly on the floor before him.

"_Alekifa, son of Uzzi, of the Tribe of Benjamin, you who witnessed the slaughter of your people…it is also an honor." _

Atemu licked his lips. "Father, we have travelled far in the hope that you would offer us aid in the war against the false-gods who have ruled in your place. Their tyranny has spread across the galaxy, they have taken from this world your beloved children as slaves for their mines, they have stolen our greatest achievements and technology and made it their own. I beseech you, Father, please…help us, before they discover a way to use your last gift, the Shadows!"

Blood red eyes turned toward him, peering out through folds of light that wavered around like glistening hair in a pool of liquid. They were eyes of grief, piecing in their sorrow.

"_My beloved Son, in whom I adore, I have seen how far this planet has fallen and I gave up hope. Yet you,"_ his gaze turned to Alekifa, _"you saw them for what they truly were…"_

Alekifa shrugged. "There can only be _one_ god."

"_Mortals…you are strange creatures indeed."_ Re seemed to sigh, _"Even the false-gods with their petty mortal forms must know they cannot outlast the Shadows and the Light, the Truth of Eternity. There will come a time when this Dawn fades and a new Dawn rises."_

"Will you help us?" Alekifa kicked his sword forward.

Re tipped his head upward, his glistening skin flaring in a brief shine of annoyance.

Atemu flinched.

"_Impudent child, I see all! There is no war today, tomorrow and forever. What you do now means nothing but a speck of ink upon a tapestry, what aid I give to you will have no meaning therefore it is reduced to ash."_

"In other words, you won't." Alekifa snorted. "I thought so. Some god you are."

"_Be I a god or a life-form you do not yet understand, little mortal? Someday you shall comprehend this. I shall aid you, but my aid will be naught what you expect and it shall come when you naught expect it, and in a way you never dreamed. What lies before you both is a path that will shape not just the present but the future. You will endure the pain and suffering of this world—for this world—and become the sacrifice needed to save that which you both hold most dear. This will destroy you, but it will also save you. Your curse will endure for all Eternity and you shall never find peace…you, Great Pharaoh, shall be denied the Afterlife. I will never accept you into my breast."_

Atemu clasped his hands to his face, shading his eyes to hide his shame.

"No…" He felt Alekifa's hand upon his shoulder.

"_And you, Thief King, betrayer of all, shall partake in the agony of your Pharaoh in whom you share such devotion."_

"You're not my god, so I care not for whatever you say. I am sworn to follow the Pharaoh to his death and beyond if I must and to avenge the slaughter of my people…if this path allows me to do so, then I shall follow it."

"_I have witnessed your conviction, it pleases me, mortal."_ The apparition inclined its glittering head. Slowly it stretched out its hand, rays of light gleaming off golden metal skin. It was tiny and delicate like a child's, but sculpted and perfect, made out of the purest of gems. Atemu stared at it, his eyes watering from the intense shine of the god's radiance.

"_Do you accept this path, my Son?"_

"Why have you forsaken me? You condemn me to live beyond your touch? I am a god, and yet you deny me place beside you!" he choked. "I have fought in your name against the false-gods in whom my ancestors allowed to taint our beloved Earth and yet you would curse me?"

"_I rule all, earth, sky and underworld—I never forsake my children!"_ The temple shook, causing a song to radiate throughout the crystals. _"You know not the future, the glory, wonder and rebirth you shall witness beyond the suffering, pain and concealment you will endure. Though I cast you from my sight for a time, I will draw you near again."_

The touch was brief but the warmth of the light that flowed into him reached even the deepest parts of his sorrowed soul, filling the creases and wounds built over years of war and shame. The red eyes of the god glittered with laughter as he withdrew, his slender shape fading into the sunset.

"_Do you accept, my Son?"_

Atemu reached out for Alekifa's hand, grasping it tightly. He needed the strength of his friend in that moment.

"I accept." He choked out.

Re's head bowed. _"Then in three years, five months, two days, four hours and eight minutes you will die by each other's hands."_


	2. GoDR Episode 1 - Daniel's Miracle

_It has been awhile for me, but this story has been silently sitting in my pile of papers just…waiting for me to feel comfortable enough and inspired enough to sit at my café and ponder life, the stars, what it means to be human, to give it breath._

_I've been slowly getting sicker, thus I thought it was time to dust of something that I very much enjoyed and made me smile. A world where my pain and illness could take a backburner and I could be free for just a short time. _

_So, for brief interludes I step back into a place that warms my soul. As stories, imagination, wonder, beauty and great characters that have such incredible journeys are the stuff in that dreams are made of._

_I hope you enjoy the little droplets._

_I'll try to update as often as possible. _

_Much cheer,_

_KL_

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Episode One: Daniel Jackson's Miracle

Was it possible for man to reach so far out into the stars that he would never look back?

Back to the humble beginnings of tiny, small and significant little Earth? Earth that was so young, so pure and so immature before the immensity of the grand universe stretching out before it—even he, a learned doctor of archeology, who thought he had known so much, had now become far more a student of the Truth beyond the stars.

The miracle of yearning, desiring and hungering for the quenching of questions, it strived humanity forward and yet, looking upon the Stargate Doctor Daniel Jackson felt such dread deep in his bones. He blinked aside tears, gripping tighter his suitcase in trembling hands.

This ancient tool of wonder that had so captivated him in the beginning no longer held the childish hopes and dreams of a young Earth stepping out to discover the unknown—no—it held a sickening black tar of deception and lies. Its foul mouth had stolen from him his beautiful wife, Sha're, for from within its depths came the monsters of nightmares—the Goa'uld.

A chill swept down his spine. Never would he forget those burning eyes, scorching into his flesh, nor could he rid himself of the horrible taste of staff-weapon fire that left a heavy metal scent layered in the air to be sucked deep into the mouth.

He sniffed, rubbing at his watery eyes under his foggy glasses. Wearily he turned aside from the view of the Stargate below, returning his attention to the briefing room. He gave a start, dropping his suitcase in a flounder at the sudden appearance of Teal'c behind him.

It had been five months since the once First Prime of Apophis had become a full member of SG-1 and he still had not really become used to how the big brawny alien could so silently walk into a room. Afterall, Teal'c was enormous and gigantic and—and—he was—well—Daniel sighed, giving a weak wave to the stoic alien.

There was one thing about Teal'c, you could always rely upon him to be the same every day of the week and for that, Daniel was immensely grateful for. There was rarely ever any change in Teal'c's bald head and glossy dark-coffee skin, it was only ever his eyes that lit up with genuine warmth and greeting. How Daniel loved his eyes, they were so very human. Looking into them he could almost entirely forget that the Jaffa carried a larva Goa'uld in a pouch within his abdomen.

"DanielJackson, I thought you had left for English."

"It's _England_, Teal'c, _England_." Daniel smiled, snatching up his case. "And I ah…forgot some files so I had to pop back into work. I got side-tracked. Would you like to walk me back out?"

Teal'c inclined his head. They struck up a slow stroll, wandering out of the briefing room and down through the twisting corridors of Stargate Command. Layers and layers of concrete and stone under a mountain, it really was like a fortress, and Daniel supposed it now had to be, considering what it was they were holding back—but could concrete and stone withstand the Goa'uld?

No—those monsters had ships, they would come, it was only a matter of time.

His sweaty fingers clawed around the handle of his suitcase. The precious artifact tucked secretly away within it held what he yearned would be their guiding light in the coming months ahead, he only hoped he could get it through security.

When they reached the second elevator to the above ground floors Teal'c finally broke their little communal silence.

"Do you believe that you shall find the answers you seek in _Inn-cland_?"

"_England_." Daniel held up a finger.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

Daniel pouted and rolled his eyes, relenting.

"I hope so Teal'c, I really, really do. We could use a miracle right about now."

_Miracles_.

Why was he always hoping for such a thing? Why, when one could have said the Stargate in itself was a miracle. Small, everyday things were miracles, like the ticking hand of a clock, or the turning on of a hose to water a garden; those things were miracles, were they not?

Was he looking at the world, or the universe, in entirely the wrong way? Had he somehow become cynical just because he had been given witness to a miracle more amazing than man walking upon the moon?

"DanielJackson, I believe you shall find what you seek." Teal'c's voice was a calm drone; Daniel barely caught it over the sound of the elevator doors hissing open to reveal the tunnel to the SGC's entrance. Placing his hand upon the Jaffa's firm arm Daniel gave it a squeeze.

"Thanks Teal'c." He stepped over the threshold, glancing back and giving a wave, "Hey, look after Jack and the Captain while I'm gone and no saving the world without me."

Daniel heard the elevator doors sliding shut and he swaggered his way down the long tunnel toward the glitter of daylight ahead, revealing the way out from under the mountain. His chest inflated with a deep, buoyant breath of air. Now came the moment of truth, would he actually be able to smuggle out the artifact by looking as smooth and cool as he always did?

Yeah, he could pull this off.

Piece of cake, as Jack would have said.

After all, if the guards noticed the artifact he had a string of excuses and he had a good silver-tongue when it came to explaining archeological-looking things hidden in bags.

Really, he did…

Really.

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His spirit longed for the days of old, when he had once wandered the deserts with Mahado, searching with the great sorcerer for his god-bird that would prove that he was indeed worthy of his place as a god—as Pharaoh of the Two Kingdoms. He had been but a boy, unaware of the grip the cobra of the false-gods had upon his beautiful planet nor of the mantle of leadership his father would leave to him in only a few short years.

How wonderfully naive he had been, learning the art of the Shadows, how to feel the temperament of the Truth-gods, and sense the flow of the dimensions around him. Those days of old had been peaceful, they had not carried the scent of blood and despair, at least not for him, he had been unaware of his father's wrath on the Hebrew villages, unaware of the violent slaughtering the false-gods brought upon the soil of Earth.

He had been free, as free as his god-bird on the desert winds.

Yugi stirred out of the memory, blinking away fine grains of sand. Standing still upon the crest of a lone dune for a solitary amount of time had built up a peak of the dusty, almost liquid like silt around his ankles. He pulled his boots free and brushed his jeans off. Casually he leaned on his staff and gave a weary smile, amused that once again he had caught himself up in the echoing memories of his past-life that dribbled down into his mind like droplets of water. His fingers glided over the cool surface of the Puzzle tucked under the red scarf looped around his neck.

_There will be no line between your childhood and mine someday Yami. _He mused.

Taking up his staff he began the slow decent down the dune, toward the faint glow of lantern lights around the tents of the excavation site. The sun was creeping lower, revealing slowly the cascade of stars that heightened the shine of his radiant skin. At least out here, amongst those who knew him for what he truly was, he had no need to hide his Light, that was one blessing for being back on the soil of this very Egypt.

_I believe it is only happening more often because we are so close to the Nile. It is the flow of Life—Isis is stirring the depths and raising our consciousness to a higher plane._

Yugi's lips tweaked a small smile.

_What?_

_Oh…nothing, really, I just like it when you talk like that._

He heard a chuckle and felt the sensation of invisible arms encase him in a tight embrace. _If you have finished your magi wandering, dear one, Malik and I are in the tent. _

Yugi's heart sunk. He picked up the glimmer of disappointment over their link from beyond the door of Yami's soul-room but he didn't venture as to what caused the flicker. He would find out soon enough. Walking through the scattering of tents he wore his pristine smile as the children of the workers dashed around him, whooping with glee, their bronze little bodies so gorgeously tattooed in the glowing markings of the Tomb Keepers. He gave the nearest boy a slap on his bare rear-end with his staff, listening to the squeak.

"Oi! I've got my eye on you!" he called out.

The boy turned, hissing like a feline and Yugi smirked at the white radiance of his pearl eyes. The Tomb Keepers were beautifully unique as a race, their underground cities incredibly vast and unbelievable to Above-Dwellers, their bodies adapt for living therein—but their true love, their true longing and dreams was to someday return to the stars beyond!

Little Tutankhamen was just such a perfect little specimen for such an adventure, someday Yugi was sure he would take to the stars, free of the soil that kept him bound and his pearl eyes would see the wonders of the universe as they had been born to do so.

"Magi! My backside isn't for hitting."

"Really, that isn't what Malik tells me."

Tutankhamen pouted, his adorable royal face, crowned by unruly raven hair, screwed up into a tight ball. It was hard not think back to the night of first seeing him, when they had stolen into the Cairo Museum all treasure-hunter like, and with the Elixir from the Pool of Life they had brought back the little Golden King. Of all the Treasures he had uncovered across the beautiful Earth, little Tut had brought him the most joy that night, for Malik's face had been that of a very proud father.

Yugi glanced at the cartouche tattooed between the boy's bare thighs, glowing faintly in the dim light from its luminescent ink. It was Malik's insignia. He knew Malik had one, displaying his undeniable right to clanship over the Tomb Keepers. Anything or anyone who bore the cartouche was under the leader's powerful and wrathful protection. Yugi unconsciously touched his own thigh in recollection of the painful tattooing experience.

"Off you go, Tut."

The boy rushed up to him swiftly, wrapping his legs in a tight hug before vanishing around the corner of a tent with a giggle. Yugi dashed aside the faint ache the hug brought upon and continued silently through the small camp, coming finally to the largest tent. From within he caught the sound of muffled voices and with a weary sigh he shoved aside the flap, entering into the lantern lit interior. It was decked out with stunningly bright rugs. A large table was scattered with his tools for excavation and different assortment of maps, while to one side his sleeping gear was neatly arranged for the night ahead. He clearly remembered leaving it an utter mess this morning. Yami must have felt the need to tidy things once again—how amusing it was that the spirit had such a habit to obsessively clean everything.

The devil of an ancient king had seated himself in a camping chair, his regal pose had not changed since high-school days. He still carried his superior air and breeding like it a cloak and yet no one ever found it off putting, in fact, it was comforting. The confidence the spirit projected was just as affective, despite his lack of height and domineering physique.

The king's ability to appear in a physical form had not been an easy one to achieve, it had been a gift to them from the Truth-god Re—deity of Time-and-Dimensions. Yami crafted the shape out of Shadows, sculpting a form of dense particles to manifest within the Light Dimension of the Physical Realm. He could appear however he so desired and often Yugi found himself wondering why he choose to look as he did.

Those who looked upon Yami would agree that he oozed charisma and charm that was due to his personality and upbringing—sure he was handsome, but not overly so. Neither of them could lay claim to being incredibly gorgeous in the worldly sense of the word. They were too short, to lankly, and Yami's ears were just that little too big and he always hid them with his overabundance of long black hair that sat heavy on his shoulders, the golden bangs framing his high cheeks bones. Those tricolored locks were the only redeeming quality that was akin to their appearances these-days, in all other ways they were like the opposing sides of a coin. Yami the exotic Egyptian king and he the petite half-Japanese wayward grandson of an old archeologist—it was little wonder that no one looked twice at them in suspecting that they held secrets beyond compare.

"Ah, if it isn't the Magi himself, come back from his wandering of the paths of the stars." Malik chuckled wistfully and Yugi rolled his eyes, spying him across the tent. He waggled a finger at his old friend. Malik had an incredible presence about him, one that could easily fill a room with a crushing sensation.

He was a warrior-prince, a proud and powerful leader of a secret nation. He could only look at Malik through the glasses of a male though, and those glasses were jaded. To him Malik was the pristine example of old-world masculinity, the kind that made heroes and kings the legends and myths of eras bygone. To a woman he was sure Malik was prime meat, which must have been why the guy did everything possible to appear as unappealing as he could when in the 'real-world'—which often meant smelling as foul as he could and wearing the worst attire he could find. It was a nightmare, but thus far it seemed to have worked rather well for the man, only, it worked too well. One could not find a good wife if you scared even the lovely girls away with the horrible ones.

He mentally shook his head. Poor Malik, they really had to work on getting him hitched.

"Good to see you again, Yugi." Malik stood, his kilt stirring between his scarred knees. Yugi flinched, noticing the bandages around the young man's middle. Just who had he been fighting now?

He was embraced, almost hoisted off the ground by the strength in the firm tattooed arms. He closed his eyes, allowing himself the briefest of moments to drink into the hot, spicy desert scent of his old friend, trying to store it away in his mind to recall it whenever he needed it.

He was set down, his shoulders clasped and Malik's deep purple gaze stared down at him. He was being studied, inch to inch, but not just his physical state, he could sense the Tomb Keeper's mind probing gently at the walls of his mental shields.

He slapped him firmly over the cheek. "Stay out of my head, Malik Ishtar."

Malik clutched his chin. "Oiw, you don't slap like a girl anymore and…sheesh, I was just making sure—"

"I'm fine." Yugi punched his chest playfully. "Really. It's good to see you again though…however…" he motioned to the bandages. "What's this?"

Malik brushed his fingers over the wound. He turned away, moving back to his seat. He eased down, slinging one leg over the other.

]Yugi disrobed, throwing his coat over a rack and tugging off his red scarf. He sat back on the arm of Yami's chair, studying the confusing emotions around Malik that clung to his skin as deposit would.

"One of our tunnels dug a little too deep. We came across a lair of…some kind of foul creature from the ages before time. Thankfully we dealt with it and resealed the tunnel but I dare not continue mining in that area, no matter how rich the mineral deposits are. If just one of those disgusting flying monstrosities got free to the Upper-World—" he shivered. "Of course, there are those on the Council who disagree with me, we live off of mining the Earth's core and selling the products the Upper-World. I keep telling them…there is a lot of Earth around and no one knows we're under them."

He bitterly clutched the edges of his chair, "Idiots never listen. They keep it up and I'll end up knocking a couple heads off in combat."

"Malik, if you need any help I'm perfectly willing to come down and throw some weight around." Yami leant forward.

Malik waved his hand in dismissal. "Thanks for the offer Yami but I would much rather run my government myself and use your god-like authority when the most dire need calls for it. Over use of your presence only dulls the awe."

"And you're still refusing to use your Shadow Powers." Yugi pouted. Though in truth he had to hand it to Malik, the amount of self-control the man mustered in not using his abilities was to him, implausible, he could not even imagine not using his gifts anymore—they had become a regular part of his life and yet Malik refused to weld the powers he had as a Dark and an Item bearer.

Malik's smile was a sad one. Yugi shut off his empathic receptors, having no desire to drink in the twirling emotions of regret, heart-ache, loneness and longing flowing from his friend. Yami's hand touched his thigh, giving it a soft brush of comfort. It made him ache all the more, for inside he knew the spirit-being could not feel the touch as he could feel it, the king was only acting out the motion because it was a natural old-in-built human response from when he had been alive.

He shook away the thoughts.

"No," Malik looked aside, "and I will not allow myself too. I am an unbalanced Dark. It is far too dangerous to even attempt to weld the Shadows within me without being balanced. Marik and I feel it is too risky, we both agree that if we dared anything we would open ourselves up to the influence that once had hold over us. We will not do that. Our minds have not changed on the matter."

Yugi dipped his head. Marik, of course, had say on the situation as well—Marik—the alien that had begun the journey for them all, their first 'real' contact with the—even his mind choked on the word just thinking of it—the _Goa'uld_—though Marik himself was of another entirely different faction there would have been no telling the difference at the time of Duelist City, he'd been just as evil as the Goa'uld he had once despised and fought against.

Shadows could do that, and so could thousands of years of false imprisonment. He couldn't blame the poor disillusioned Tok'ra spy for what he had done to any of them, nor could he fault either Malik or Marik for not trusting themselves.

_You have to admit; _Yami murmured mentally, _their determination is admirable. I honestly would have given in by now. _

_That's because you're an idiot with no self-control. Malik is a saint. _Yugi poked the king.

_He tried to burn you alive and you're calling him a saint?_

Yugi flashed an emotional smile, _Compared to you, yup._

_I suppose I should take that as a compliment. _

_Indeed, my dear, do try!_

"So I guess that means you haven't found a lady-friend yet?" Yugi lightened the mood. "No balance?"

"If I had, would I be here spending this beautiful evening with you two?" Malik pulled a face.

Yami cracked a laugh. "He has a fair point."

The warrior spread his hands, "Precisely, I would be out there, yonder horizon, out in the desert with said lady-friend enjoying everything this very Egypt has to offer."

"Making babies." Yugi hoisted himself off the arm of the chair, opening the nearby eskey and pulling free two drinks. He threw a can at Malik. The Tomb Keeper caught it, giving him an eye roll.

"Probably."

"Knowing you, most certainly." Yugi pointed with a finger. "Oh, I can read your aura clearly, Malik, I'm so onto you and your dirty mind."

"Mother Nile, you're annoying." Malik popped the can's lid, taking a long draught on the coke. Yugi sat back on his perch, prodding Yami with a mental jab.

_So what's up? I felt your grief before. _

"It's not here, Aibou." Yami slouched back in his chair, the sovereign air around him growing dark and brooding. Shadows snaked up from the corners of the tent, converging upon the ancient spirit.

Yugi paused from sipping his drink. The sweet liquid tasted suddenly sour in this mouth. He closed his eyes, the flood-gates of his eternal other-half's frustration and sorrow back-lashing against his soul-room door. Curses—he had been so sure they would find the ancient monument!

"Sorry Yugi." Malik sighed heavily, leaning forward and grasping his knees.

Hiding the bitterness of defeat Yugi breathed out. He dusted at a Shadow that curled itself around his leg. It wailed at the treatment, beady eyes turning to him in a begging pout. It must have been the disembodied Kuriboh, it was the only Shadow Monster that gave him such a lovable look.

"Well," he stringed a hand through his hair, "back to England then. If it isn't here then it has to be somewhere on Earth. Something that big doesn't just get up and vanish. There will be records of it somewhere, Yami. We cannot just _give_ up now." Yugi shooed the Shadow Monster away, back into the darkness of the tents corners from where it had come.

Malik's eyes looked to the tent door, his gaze forlorn, "We've been protecting this ridge for generations, so sure that it's been buried here and to find out that it's not where it's supposed to be…" he gave a harsh snarl, "damn my father, that _arse_ of a man."

"Good place to start." Yugi rubbed his chin. "If your old-man was involved he could have sold-out and had some artifact shipped overseas. I'll ring ahead and have Ryou look into it. He has feelers in a lot of the Museums thanks to his old-man…"

"Who was an arse as well." Malik grumbled.

"Seems to be a running theme amongst us." Yami leant back wearily, almost as if he was human and he was exhausted. Yugi wanted, just for a moment, to believe that the spirit could feel his hand running gentle circles on his arm as true touch and not just the cold mirror of the illusion.

Malik pursed his lips. "Let's hope we all change that pattern."

Yugi slung his legs over Yami's, giving the Pharaoh's stubbly chin a playful pat. "You know what Malik, I have the utmost faith that we shall. Besides, you're on your way with Tutankhamen."

Malik took another swing of his drink, "Yeah," he whispered, "I suppose I am."

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The bus eased to a slow halt. Daniel stirred from his sluggish nap. He peered around; startled by the realization that he was the only one left on the small mode of transportation.

"Last stop!" the driver called out.

Scrambling up Daniel gathered his suitcase to his chest and staggered out of his seat, heading to the front. The world outside of the warm interior looked uninviting and cold, very bleak and so terribly stereotypically British it was straight out of a cable television show. The beady little eyes of the bald, spiny, skinny driver peered out at him from under a blue cap.

Daniel shivered at the chill biting at him from the gully wind. "Ah…"

"This is as far as I'll take yeh." The driver motioned to the open door.

Staring outside, down into the muddy side of the road, Daniel spluttered. "But surely you could go all the way into the Town…its…just over the hill, and its pouring with rain—"

A chortle bellowed from the drivers chest. He slapped his knee cheerfully. "Pouring? This is a light sprinkle, an nay, no buses go over the hill, ain't for years. Yeh want to go there, yer better use the legs the Lord gave yeh."

"Why?" Daniel frowned, "Why don't the buses go over the hill?" He peered through the faint foggy mist hanging over the horizon, spying through the haze the sight of small dotted houses sprinkled over the green hills, their windows alit with warm hot glows and smoke rising high from their chimney pots. It was a sweet little looking town, that much he had to admit, even in the glaze of murky low autumn.

"Everyone knows that there'n Manor and the woods beyond be haunted, laddy!" The driver tweaked his nose, giving a sly wink. "Now off yeh go!" He practically kicked Daniel smartly in the rear-end, sending him stumbling out the bus. Daniel staggered onto the sloppy road-side, wincing as the door slammed shut beside him and the head-lights flared as the bus chugged its way down the road. It vanished into the mist.

Daniel hugged the collar of his thin jacket around his neck. He had come woefully unprepared for any kind of wet-weather. Goodness knows why though! Then again, he had just spent the last two years living on a desert planet and only just become used to living on Earth again over the past six months, weather was something he was once more adapting too. Culture-shock, bother it was awful…

Cursing in every language he knew, spluttering foul hisses at Jack for not being there to save him, Daniel trudged off down the road, heading in the direction of the glow stemming from the houses in the distance. The Manor the bus driver had mentioned sat high upon a hill, overlooking the little township, it was a beautiful English country castle, making him recall too mind the time before Tubor period and their building of unfortified homes, to the feudal lords and their grand strongholds. It was almost something torn out of the pages of a fairy-tale.

The further inward he travelled, the denser the mist became and the deeper his already soiled shoes sunk into the uneven soil of the road that he was not even sure was a road anymore. Had the bus driver even pointed him right direction? Daniel stopped, giving a snapped huff of despair. No longer could he see the lights of the town, nor the glow of the Manor on the hill. He was drenched to the bone, cold as Antarctica and in what possibly was the middle of utterly nowhere. Really, honestly, he may as well have been on another planet, on the other side of the flipping galaxy!

"Hello…"

Daniel yelped. It was an involuntary reaction. He really couldn't help it. The voice startled the honest living day-lights out of him, no matter how softly spoken and gentle it was. Clutching his case to his chest he looked around, surprised to see through the haze of rain a boy of what could only be around seven or ten peering at him with a cocked head.

He wore a rather impish expression over cheeks sprayed with a galaxy of freckles and his hair was a supernova of rusty brown. The wet shirt, displaying what he thought must have been the symbol of the Autobots if he could remember the Transformer factions correctly, was stuck to his skinny frame through the dampness of the rain.

He hardly seemed bothered at all by the chill.

The boy looked up at him thoughtfully. "Yer lost mister?"

"Ah…" Daniel peered around. "I…ah…yes…" He had to admit that really, yes, he was.

The boy laughed softly, it was like bells, or maybe more like the rustle of leaves against the wind. He turned, giving a back handed wave. Daniel back stepped at the sight he beheld. The boy's shirt was physically morphed into his hunched back. Protruding out of it was a grotesque growth of fungi and saplings that trailed down in a cascade like the bottom of the forest floor. He teetered back in horror. The boy rotated, looking confused, revealing again his a purely human face. He smiled suddenly, as if realizing in that moment the reason for his distress.

He darted back to him and Daniel felt his hand sized in a tight grip that he would never be able to wiggle free of.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt! You'll get used to it, just like I have. Come on, the village center is this way. I'll take you to the local Traven; all the travelers go there whenever they're lost. I am sure you will find what you seek there."

With the grip fast on his hand he was lead through the haze of the fog. For a time it seemed as though they were going deeper into a marsh until the ground began to grow solid and a road formed under his feet instead of a bog and soon they passed through what must have been the gates of the town. He only wished it were day-time, or that the moon was not covered by the mist, and he could truly see the pearly shine of the magnificent stone structures that reminded him of Stonehenge.

Houses surrounded him, their glowing interior lights welcoming him into cobbled stone streets. The old fashioned lamp posts were crafted out of iron, lit with scented oil, and glowed brightly into the hazy rain. Dozens of them surrounded what must have been the center of the Town square, in which a fountain lavishly sparkled in the light of the lanterns. The boy dragged him past it quickly but in the briefest of glances he caught sight of the center stone in the square of the fountain, his mind running to catch up with itself at the sight of a beautiful sword submerged within the granite. A sword—in stone?

With a happy skip and hop the boy jumped onto the wide steps of the Traven, pointing to the overhanging signs creaking above the door. Daniel squinted at it, just spying the name _Kings Resting, _in the intricate carving.

"Here you are mister, you're no longer lost!" The boy proudly announced. He jumped off the steps, giving a delighted laugh. Daniel opened his mouth to give a shout but the boy vanished into the mist, his laugher the only sign that he had even existed. Daniel stared agape into the mist. He shivered, realizing the deathly chill was creeping over him and he quickly shoved against the door, stumbling into the warm interior. He thumped against an aged wooden beam holding up a low ceiling. Wagon wheels hung from the ceiling, all lit with candles, creating a dim atmosphere. Daniel squinted, surprised at the faces that all turned to look at him from the patrons gathered around the common-room.

"Ah…hi…"

The bar-keep, a brawny looking man, red tussled hair not even looking like it ended at his robust beard that dribbled down his chest, rounded the aged counter. "Yo, laddy!"

Daniel winced as his shoulders were sized and he was practically heaved out of the entrance and into the warmth of the inner sanctum. "We've been expecting yeh. Come, come, come! Sit!" He was shoved into a booth and a coffee mug slung in front of him neatly. "Rest! You are most welcome here."

He stared blankly at the coffee for a moment before slouching forward in exhaustion now that he was finally seated on a comfortable chair. He pressed his forehead against the surface of the table. If he just closed his eyes for a moment, surely it wouldn't matter that much.

"Doctor Jackson?"

Daniel jolted as a gentle touch shook him awake. He was not in his office in the SGC, and it was not Sam who was shaking him awake to remind him that he was late for a briefing. The small nibble of disappointment vanished as he glanced around the Traven and his eyes caught on the figure standing over him.

Staring down at him was a pair of soft lavender eyes, rimmed by round glasses. In a gathering of Anglo-Saxon faces the young man was a startlingly strange arrival, for the sharp strokes of his features were definitely of Asian origin and his skin had the warm buttery tone of someone who harkened from the Nation of the Sun. Daniel scrubbed a hand through his hair. It was no longer damp. It must have been dried by the warmth of the blazing fire. That much was a relief, he was warmer.

The young man was apparently noticing the warmth of the Traven, removing his heavy trench coat, flicking it over the side of the chair and tugging loose the red scarf tucked tight round his neck. Daniel caught the flicker of something gold under the scarf, a necklace of some kind, though that seemed rather out of character from what he suddenly judging of the man in front of him. He neither looked one for jewelry nor makeup despite wearing it thickly around his intense eyes. His frazzled, unruly hair had been dyed three distinct colors, making him almost impossible not the notice, if the charismatic allure didn't catch folk at first glance anyway.

He winked. "You gave us a bit of a fright up at the Manor, not turning up when you should have."

Daniel yawned—oh—shoot—he just yawned, his jetlag must have still been kicking around the hill. He covered his mouth, hearing the man laugh softly.

He eased down in a seat across from him and almost instantly the bar-tender was at the table, grinning from ear to ear. He wiped his huge hands on his strained apron.

"'G'eet'ngs, Master Motou, what would yer like 'ere eve'ng?"

"Patrick, how many times have I told you, please just call me Yugi…and I'll take a pint of Guinness."

Patrick gave a hearty chortle, propping a hand on his hip. "Let me guess, yer Dark is feeling a wee bit ghoulish after Sunday Church and wants a pick-me-up."

The young man flashed a rosy smile, curling his hands together atop the table. Daniel caught a strange echo of laughter from the other patrons of the hotel-bar. He glanced around, realizing he had completely missed an inside joke.

"That's funny Patrick, really funny." Yugi leant back. Daniel felt intense eyes glance his way. They really were heightened by the makeup around them, he obviously knew what his best quality was. "Doctor Jackson, would you like a refill for your coffee?"

"Ah…" Daniel glanced at the cold coffee he had long forgotten about. "I suppose."

"Another coffee as well Patrick. Thanks."

"You're welcome, Master Motou."

"It's _Yugi_! Just _Yugi_!" He splayed his hands in the air at the departing bar-tender.

"Master Motou, the day you become _Just Yugi_, is the day the Count gets married."

Yugi sat back with a huffed pout.

"Well, I guess I am just going to have to make sure Ryou and Bakura get hitched. Then you can all get your just-deserves and suffer for eternity!" He stuck out a tongue at the laughing patrons. Yugi shook his head, giving Daniel his full attention, despite muttering under his tongue.

A slender hand reached across the table. Daniel stared at it for a moment before he took it. It was surprisingly strong for being so small, it was also worn and calloused, and had a fair-share of scars. Parts of it were smooth and he realized that the skin of the fingers was entirely scar-tissue as if the hand had been terribly burnt.

"Doctor Yugi Motou, Egyptologist, Behavioral Scientist and I actually handle a bow and arrow pretty good, apparently. You must be Doctor Daniel Jackson, all the way from America!"

Daniel dropped back in his seat. "You're _that_ Yugi Motou." He had been imaging an older man Japanese man, with graying hair and for some reason, a much squeaker voice and maybe a richer accent. This strange fellow, with his blazon hair and delicate smile had not been the picture he had painted in his head from the words on his computer screen via email.

As if guessing his thought Yugi laughed. "You would be surprised how often I get that response. I'm a bit on the wild side, makes the old-codgers locked up in their offices think twice when I walk into an auditorium and blow-their-socks-off."

"I used to think I could do that." Daniel rubbed a hand through his hair.

"Oh, I bet you still could," Yugi winked knowingly, "they just wouldn't believe a single thing you'd have to say, right?"

Daniel pulled back slightly at the glitter in the man's eyes. He touched his nose in a jester of mirth. Patrick waddled over, slapping down a pint of beer. Yugi shook his head at it, making a sign with his fingers and Patrick chuckled, ruffling the young man's hair in play before he passed Daniel a new coffee.

"Hope the Pharaoh keeps you holy, little Light."

"Shut up, Patrick! I can look after myself, you old Scott!"

Daniel could have sworn Yugi's pale eyes flickered stark red as he sipped the beer, gulping it down as though it were simply juice. He placed it down, giving a long, pleased sigh.

"Thank the gods," he whispered, head bowed. He brushed back his curled bangs, tucking them behind his ears and flashed an emblazoned smile. His gaze had returned to normal.

"So Ryou was worried about you. You were supposed to arrive three days ago! We thought the fairies might have nabbed you." He chuckled.

"Do you mean Professor Bakura? I'd come to meet him here, I had hoped it would be able to help me. We've been conversing through emails over the past couple months."

"Professor Bakura?" Yugi snorted into the beer, he broke away from the glass, shaking his head. "Sweet Isis, no, Professor Bakura was Ryou's old-man…he committed suicide about five years ago. The Town people around here call Ryou, Lord Bakura, or Count Bakura." Yugi laughed, "It makes his day and he gets all flustered about it. It's really adorable. Its him you've been emailing, or actually, him and me. Did you notice the switch every now and then?"

"Yes, I did." Daniel smiled. "You both have distinct ways of writing."

Yugi swallowed the beer, he pulled a sudden face, shifting it aside and staring at it for a moment. "Re, how do you drink that, seriously…it's like the grossest thing in existence." He shook his head and flicked his attention to one side before shifting it back to the conversation, looking faintly dazed. Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"I did all the translating," Yugi played with the condensation of the beer on the table, "Ryou just writes better emails than I do. I'm all like…blaa…blaa." He waved a hand in the air. "Apparently I carry on about totally boring things way too much."

"I don't know, I enjoyed hearing about your walks through the woods." Daniel sighed, "It sounds nice…this place." He glanced around the Traven.

"It is." Yugi eased himself to his feet, "Come on, we'd best get back to the Manor, Ryou will have supper by now and I imagine you're still adapting to our time-zone." He gathered up his trench-coat, casting it over his shoulders. He dug into the coat pocket, pulling out coins and casting them on the table.

"But it's still raining outside—"

"Oh, there is a car waiting for us." Yugi pointed out the window. Daniel turned, staring at the silver Audi he had not even noticed was parked out on the lonely street, silently waiting under the light of the lantern.

Yugi bent, gathering up Daniel's gear before he had a chance to grab it. Daniel scurried after him, realizing now that he was standing that the young man was actually short. He barely reached his shoulders.

"Goodnight Patrick, give your little girls and wife my love!" Yugi shouted over his shoulder as he banged on the door to shove it open, exiting into the cold bitter night air. Daniel followed, approaching the Audi. A tall man stepped out from the drivers' seat, dressed in a black suit, his graying beard trimmed and neat.

He opened the side door of the silver car, giving an inclined bow.

"Lord Ryou has supper waiting for yourself and Doctor Jackson."

"Thanks Edison." Yugi passed him the suitcase and vanished into the car. His head popped out and he grinned at Daniel. "Come along Daniel, its warm in here, Edison's had the heater going!"

He quickly scrambled in after the little man. The door thumped shut after him and Yugi winked at him cheerfully.

A moment later the suited-man climbed into the divers-seat. Yugi motioned to him.

"Edison Clive is Ryou's Butler. Took me awhile to get used to having a Butler," he tugged his blond bangs. "Still feels a bit weird, but Edison is…hands down…the nicest fellow to exist upon this very Earth."

"That is very kind of you, Master Motou." Edison replied. He eased the Audi out of the town center and through the small streets toward the manor atop the hill.

"Edison! It's just _Yugi_, or just _Motou_. Master, this, Master that, is just creeping me out…"

The man simply chuckled in reply and Yugi slouched back with a grouch.

The manor truly did overlook the town and the closer they drew to it the more convinced Daniel became that he was in the remains of a medieval village, driving through the bailey sections that had now been done away with. Had it not been evening he would have called for a stop to clamber out into the gray haze to run toward the crumbled down walls that must have been leftovers of ancient fornications of old watch towers from bygone walls.

The manor itself stood like a proud father atop the hill, the remnant of a great castle. Daniel shivered as they passed through the gates of the grounds, driving up the long drive-way lined with weeping willows. It took moment for him to realize the drive-way was a bridge over a mote. His lips spread in a grin and he peered through the window, down into the deep waters below.

"We have water-dragons living in there." Yugi chuckled. "The kids enjoy trying to ride them in summer."

Somehow he sounded and looked completely serious. Daniel shook his head.

Edison pulled the Audi to a halt and Yugi popped the door before the butler could climb out and achieve the action himself. Climbing free after the young man Daniel stood limply in front of the manor, gaping at the ancient monument. He was someone who had travelled the world and this castle was something that should have been on the list of wonders, so why had he never heard of it?

"It's beautiful." Really, the word didn't do it justice. How could it have been preserved in such a dank little place? Who looked after its towering spires, who lit its fires and cleaned its chimneys, washed its windows and trimmed the vines?

"You should see it in the daylight." Yugi pushed him gently forward. "It has been incredibly well preserved for an old building. Ryou owns pretty much the entire land of the Town and most of the forest beyond, and the farmland as well, its technically his entire estate and his family has been owners of the land since for-freaking-ever. We've got a sheep station and the town folk look after the stables and the farms…oh…and not the mention the garden. Everything you see, the Town itself, is self-sustaining. Why, just a couple months ago we had a movie theater installed so the young people wouldn't have to travel to London, not that is that hard mind you, you just jump into a fire-place and poof…but you know, young people these days—everything has be close by."

Yugi rattled on as he trotted up the stairs, his words making barely hand sense. "It's a bit of a utopia you know, everyone chips in, everyone has their role, and the new people add to the tapestry of a larger structure whenever they arrive. Mind you, there have been times when some visitors have come and had a bit of…well…trouble and freaked out about just how weird everything is. I suppose the town-folk don't act very normal. Isn't really the place you come for a vacation, if you get my drift."

Edison swung open the magnificent castle doors without effort. Daniel studied them, gazing at the age, the worn wood that told stories of sieges far beyond the time period they were now in. Yugi practically skipped in, giving him a wave. Daniel gulped. The mouth of the manor was a threshold of wonder, did he dare step through it. It felt almost as though he was stepping through the Stargate again for the first time, heading into an adventure he had no knowledge of. With a deep breath he moved forward, through the doorway.

The warmth of the interior hit him like a sledge hammer. Daniel coiled back in surprise at the encompassing grip of the heat that seemed to dry his clothes almost instantly. The entrance hall may has well have been the size of a ballroom, the marble floor glossed and beautifully shining in the light of a high chandelier within a domed ceiling painted with murals worthy of historical praise. Enormous stairs spread upward in a cascade like a fountain to the upper levels, Yugi was already ascending them, the young man having disrobed his trench coat and left it hanging on a hook by the doors. Edison was waiting patiently and Daniel gave a start, realizing suddenly both were waiting on him. He quickly shrugged off his coat, handing it to the butler and with a skip and hop he darted across the marble hall toward Yugi. He was smiling an odd smirk of amusement.

"Edison will take your bag to your room; do you have what you need though?"

Daniel felt for his satchel—or his _man-bag_ as Jack so sarcastically called it. "Yes."

"Good, come on. Ryou is waiting for us."

The corridors were long, the wooden floors creaked under the rugs and the oil lamps cast strange shadows on the walls. How many turns they made Daniel tried to count, but soon he became hopelessly lost in the twisting and turning. Finally Yugi stopped at a door and gently eased it open. Warm light fluttered into the dark corridor, casing away the bitter shadows and Daniel could have sworn he heard them wailing like scolded children. Yugi kicked something he couldn't see.

"Leave, this is our territory. Go, play elsewhere." He heard the young man whisper.

The door opened fully and Yugi stepped in, the light flooded the corridor and Daniel blinked away the flare as he strolled forward, passing the threshold. Yugi shut it behind him, as if somehow it was important to keep the dankness of the corridors outside the room.

"Hey Ryou. Look who I found at the Traven." Yugi slapped him in the back.

"Thank goodness!" A thickly accented tenor caught Daniel by surprise. He twisted his head, ignoring the wonderfully decorated room, looking instead to the tall man crouched by the fire, dressed entirely in white. He made to move forward to introduce himself but as soon as the pale pink eyes met his he jostled to a halt. His feet froze him in place as the figure by a blazing fire rose elegantly from poking at the flames.

Now he knew why the town-folk called him Count.


	3. GoDR Episode 2 Count of Camelot

_Hey everyone, thanks so much for your support. I really appreciate it—incredibly so. Your kindness and messages warm me and keep a fire burning inside, to get me through the long days. You'll never know how much your words mean sometimes._

_I hope you enjoy this next update, hopefully it's alright, scribbly, scribbles, scribble... ;) _

_I've been wondering though, would any of you be interested in reading some of my original work if I made a site over on the sister site? I've been thinking of posting some of my first-drafts of a couple of the novels I'm working on (not related to the ones currently getting published, not allowed to post them, under contract and all that) but I have tons of stuff and I figured…you know…why not post the first drafts? That way people can read them, tell me to scrap bits and what needs work or whatever. _

_Just a passing thought, any ideas?_

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Episode Two: The Count of Camelot

Ryou Bakura was an albino. A fact made all the more striking by his play on the lack of color in both his skin and hair with the creamy tones of his current attire. Daniel hugged his satchel to his chest tightly as he approached the couches beside the blazing fire place, gaze captivated by the tall young lord.

So this was the man who owned the manor?

He supposed he did rather look like he belonged in a castle; his tall proud stance pertained to an era of some knightly time. It was not hard to picture him in a robe, with a sword at his side, or in a suite of armor and right there would have been quite easily the legend of the White Knight with his tail of glistening pastel hair flowing in the chilled breeze.

"Count Ryou Bakura?" Daniel held out his hand, praying it was not sweaty.

"Oh goodness me, Yugi, you did not tell him to call me that did you?" Ryou cringed.

"No, I just said the Town folk call you that."

"Please, Doctor Jackson, just call me Ryou."

His hand was taken and given a strong, sturdy shake. For a man who looked like he was hidden behind books and his wire-rimmed glasses all day Daniel was sure just from the grip of his fine fingers that the Count could give anyone a mighty good wallop.

Daniel nodded. "Then please, if we're all on first names…I'm _just_ Daniel."

Yugi's delighted laugh filled the room with relaxed cheer. "This is what happens when you get three awkward nerds together, we spend half our time introducing each other. We need to get out of our offices more."

"If you drag me on any more of your expeditions Yugi Motou, I might just go mad."

"Oh come on, you enjoyed the last one."

"Almost getting eaten alive and having my boots torn off was not enjoyable. I also do not enjoy having Bakura needing to save me from quick-sand. The whole 'being –a-damsel-in-distress' thing does not suit me in the slightest."

"I walked into that quick-sand too."

"But you make a better damsel." Ryou poked Yugi's nose playfully.

Yugi batted the hand away, "Shut up."

Daniel looked between them both in a faint smile. They must have been friends for a long while. They bickered like he had Jack did on their good days. "How do you manage going on expeditions with your condition?"

"My condition?" Ryou frowned in confusion, "Oh…you mean, oh!" He laughed, "Sorry, I forget sometimes. Lots of sunscreen, Yugi's a mother-hen." He jutted a finger at his friend. "I'm not actually that bad off." Ryou rubbed at his eyes as thought noticing an irritation, "I just do not have any pigmentation in my skin and hair…and my eyes just look pink, they're actually a lovely light brown."

Daniel took the offered seat, fascinated at the gentlemanly mannerism of the tall man by the fire. The light played off him so oddly, as if his skin was diamond. Such skin surely must have burned in the sunlight, yet it was pale and unblemished save for a scar down his left cheek and a recent bruise just visible under his V-neck cream sweater.

He strolled forward and plopped down with a rather unflattering flop on the couch, flinging one leg over the other to reveal his fluffy pink monster-slippers.

Daniel stared at them blankly. Okay, those did not suite the title of Count at all. He forced himself not to grin like an idiot at the sight of them.

Ryou shrugged, "And besides, I have my ways of getting around without ruining my fetching complexion." He fiddled with a golden bangle around his wrist.

Yugi snorted a laugh into a large mug plucked up from a tray on the table. Daniel glanced in his direction. The young man looked as if he was trying rather hard not to burst into hysterical laughter over a private joke.

Ryou spread his hands, indicating the array of sweets and hot coco. "So, please, enjoy supper! My Butler is a master cook, so dig in. I do hope you did not have too much trouble finding the place. This Town is a bit off the beaten track."

"Ah, I managed." Daniel took a tart.

"Wonderful. I was a bit worried you would get lost, since you were a bit late getting here. I sent Yugi out to find you."

Yugi nibbled on a slice of cake. "Because I am here to do your every bidding."

"Precisely, old boy! I let you cheat off my tests at school and now you are my slave."

Yugi rolled his eyes, glancing over at Daniel. "Don't believe a word he says. I'm actually a genius, I just never studied. I was always too busy saving the world."

Daniel smiled faintly. "Teenagers right, we all think we're saving the world."

"Pretty much." Yugi shrugged. He poured himself another mug of coco. "So I figure you're pretty much a genius yourself. You used to be a big deal in our field a while ago before you dropped off the face of the planet. I must say, we were rather surprised when you contacted us—"

"Most folk do not know we are associated." Ryou raised an eyebrow, "We do a rather good job trying not to let the world know we know each other." He motioned between himself and Yugi.

Daniel plucked at his second slice of cake. "Well, I still have a few contacts in the archeological community, even if my reputation was destroyed…you two are an odd affair. No one has ever seen the legendary Professor Ryou, and the Yugi Motou is said to be a Treasure Hunter of great caliber, who will work for any amount of pay."

"True enough, I did work for five bucks once, but that was for a little girl who wanted me to find her lost kitten. I tend to work more in the millions though." Yugi flipped back, giving a smirk at Daniel's agape stare.

"So, someone pointed you in our direction." Ryou mused. "Interesting…"

"Not so much pointed," Daniel rubbed the back of his neck, "more like…just mentioned that you were both the experts in this area. I have been rather out of the loop the last couple of years."

"We noticed." Yugi idly muttered. Ryou kicked his shin.

"By _'this area' _you mean the language you have been trying to translate?" Ryou shuffled forward on his couch. "It is a very ancient form of Egyptian that long died out. Very few even accept it as a language…we were surprised when you did. That is what gained our interest."

Daniel nodded. "Mine too." He reached into his satchel, carefully withdrawing the wrapped tablet. Yugi practically launched forward from his lounging position.

"You have it with you! Whoooo!" He slapped his hands upon the coffee table, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The shine of delight in his eyes was incredible and Daniel watched as the young man bounced happily on his heels. He wondered if this was what he looked like to Jack whenever he found something new and exciting to gawp over.

He passed it to Yugi. "It's been very well preserved." He was not going to tell them why it was in such a good state and why he could handle it without worrying over the fatty acids in his skin. Yugi did not seem to be bothered by it, his eyes scanned the scrawled language, mind too far gone already.

Daniel turned back to Ryou.

"Well, as I said in my emails, as far as I have been able to figure out…I believe it talks about a young god who had some form of supernatural weapons that he scattered across the galaxy. It makes mention of the Cities of Dawn, I think…"

Yugi pursed his lips. "Hey, you've done a pretty good job to get just that much out of it." He turned the tablet upside down. "Ah, that's better!" He stood, tapping his foot on the floor thoughtfully. "Well, I can tell you now that I can see it clearly—it's an ancient dialect that few folk would know," Yugi scratched the back of his head, "usually it's reserved for the scribe-slaves who were given leave to learn the holy-tongue, this one has obviously made his own version of the language so it couldn't be easily deciphered. He's actually done a pretty darn good job hiding most of the important information, like the locations of said Dawn Cities…who the god was. Interesting that the false-gods even knew the locations, we need to know how and why they knew…Oh, oh, lookie, lookie, here is an interesting one, got us a mention of the Inverted Pyramid and the Items!"

Daniel watched as Yugi strolled around the couch to lean casually upon its back, bending over beside Ryou as he silently studied the tablet. He briefly brushed aside his bangs, doing what must have been a subconscious tucking of them behind his ears. "This scribe-slave was also a eunuch, now we know what that means." He glanced at Ryou.

"Poor, poor man?"

Yugi buffed the English gentleman over the head.

Ryou chuckled, folding himself back and reaching for his pipe. "He was a human slave. Could mean he was on our side, and he might have known Yami. Has it got a date? How long before the _Culling of Earth_? That could tell us a lot you know, I have always been curious about when the Culling actually happened, Bakura's been so typed lipped about the whole jolly thing. Not that I blame him…"

"Well, it was when Zorc gained access to him, and come on, half the population of the planet was wiped out. I wouldn't want to talk about it either." Yugi piped up.

Daniel frowned. Okay. Now he was positive they were speaking an entirely different language and leaving him out of the conversation. So why could be hear, word for word, everything they said?

"What do you know of the false-gods and what is the _Culling of Earth_?"

Yugi almost dropped the tablet. He stepped back in shock. Ryou's pipe slid from between his lips.

"How, in Seth's hairy-balls, do you know _Atlantian_?" Yugi leapt over the couch, "We're probably only two of three people on this dear Earth that can speak it fluently! I say people—the fairies do a pretty good job." His hands went to his hips and he gave a sudden groan, turning sharply to Ryou, "It's the freaking imps, Ryou! He must be a Changeling. Wow. An American Changeling, the fairies have been busy…or maybe he knows Arthur."

Ryou's gave a knowing smile, stroking something under his shirt. "So you can understand what I am saying?"

Daniel nodded.

"Could you understand the folk in the Town as well? Did you even realize that they were speaking another tongue?"

Daniel felt his limbs slacken. Holy Hannah—as Sam would have put it—no—he had not even noticed. How…how could he not notice, when he was trained to notice languages—but now that he thought back. He touched his lips, eye's widening in horror. What was this place and why was he here? He turned slowly toward Ryou, staring at the albino man, his pale skin like the glossed shine of pearl. Ryou raised his eyebrows. He wedged his pipe back between his lips.

"I am going to ask you this once, Doctor Jackson," the English Lord puffed out a smoke ring, "and if you do not want the truth feel free to get up and walk out that door and to your chamber however if you feel like you want your answers then by all means, continue sitting."

He was frozen in place, transfixed by the pale pink gaze. He could almost imagine that the young man was a cobra, dangerously vicious, with a mesmerizing and poisonous stare.

"What do _you_ know of the false-gods, and how can you possibly read this language on this tablet when every other archeologist on this dear Earth considers it gibberish?"

"I…I…have always known that Egypt was settled by aliens. I wrote an entire book and…I was the laughing stock of my entire—"

"Pff, yes, yes, I know that. Loved the book." Yugi waved his hands, "No, the false-gods! Re forbid it! There is a difference between The Truth-gods and the false-gods, Daniel, surely you know this? I can see it in your eyes…you know what I am talking about."

Daniel sighed, bowing his head. "I can't…"

Ryou smirked. "Oh, yes you can."

"The slave who wrote this lived on another planet." Yugi sat the tablet down upon the table between them. "Come on, you know that as well as I do."

Daniel's head snapped up in shock.

"Oh yeah," Yugi folded himself on the couch beside Ryou, "I can read it word for word, Daniel."

"How? I cannot even…read…that version of…Ga…and…ah…"

Yugi spread his hands, "It was required learning were I was from. But before I can even tell you what it says about a topic that is incredibly important to me I have to know how you know about the false-gods because seriously, you're the first…other human, outside of our circle, we've ever met who knows what we know."

"We rather freaked when we realized we were talking _around_ something we obviously all had in common." Ryou chuckled, "Hence paying for your ticket over here."

Daniel sat back, warmth slowly spread from his toes up to his fingertips. "Oh my gosh…you guys know. You know that's written in Goa'uld." He had never before considered it possible that he would ever meet anyone in his own line of work who would ever truly know what he knew.

"Goa'uld," Yugi whispered the word. "It's been centuries since I've heard that spoken out loud."

Daniel noticed the young man shiver and Ryou's hand gently touched his friend's leg, giving it a tight squeeze. "It is alright Yugi. We are perfectly safe. Zorc is gone. He will not harm you again."

"I know." Yugi twitched, seeming to shake off a bad sensation.

"You have the Chappa'i do you not? That is how you know about the Goa'uld." Ryou's smiled grew wider as Daniel simply stared, astonished at his assumption. That he could not even answer was proof enough to the Count, it seemed, that he was indeed right.

Ryou turned to Yugi. "See, I told you I would find it! Malik's old-man really did sell it off, bloody old monster, but at least he left me a paper-trail to follow." He jutted a finger at Daniel. "Led me right back to the American AirForce."

Daniel spluttered. "That's impossible! You couldn't possibly have found out about the Stargate through a paper-trail. We've had everything under lock and key and—"

"Oh, tish-tosh." Ryou fluttered a hand in the air, his eyes thinned into yellow slits, "My people have your Government infiltrated. If I want information, I have it. We are an old race, older than even the Goa'uld. There is no longer enough of us to bother with world issues, but our network is enough to be useful to each other."

"Your race." Daniel whispered. Why was his skin crawling all of a sudden?

Ryou's smile snaked into a sinister leer and he pressed a finger to his lips. "What, you thought the Goa'uld were the only parasitical aliens? Daniel, darling, start widening your horizons."

"Ryou, stop scaring the poor guy. He's your guest, not a meal."

"Meal? You horrible little twit!"

Yugi held up the tablet in defense against the Count, "Tut, tut, don't hurt the priceless artifact! It holds the only addresses and references to the Truth-gods epic weapons of super-awesomeness."

Ryou collapsed back with a hiss, "Such a child." He griped and reset the cuffs of his sweater, "So, there are Chappa'i-address on it?"

Daniel perked up. He had not noticed any gate-addresses in his study of the tablet. Usually they were pretty obvious. Yugi pursed his lips. "Hmmm, they're in code. It's going to take me a while to figure them out." He looked toward Daniel hopefully, "I mean, if you want me to. I honestly don't know much about the Chappa'i at all but I do know this language."

"The Stargate, we call it a Stargate."

"Stargate," Yugi formed the word with his mouth. "I like it."

"And we call them gate-addresses. They're star constellations."

"I know, it's fascinating isn't it. I've been spending years tracking the stars trying to figure out different addresses ever since I realized that. We call it Maze Walking, it's a dream-state, I should show you sometime."

Daniel breathed out, relieved that they all spoke the same language—the language of learning. "I would love too."

"So…why are you looking for these weapons of the Truth-gods anyway?" Ryou motioned to the tablet. "The Goa'uld were defeated centuries ago and cast from our planet."

"Ahhhh…." The bliss of Yugi's excitement vanished and Daniel shuffled uneasily on his seat. "Slight problem there, they're not that…defeated."

Ryou's tea-cup dropped, breaking as it hit the floor. Yugi pulled away, curling into his couch.

"No, you…you…you're lying." Yugi choked. "We defeated them!"

Daniel stared at them both in confusion. Such a reaction, it was almost as if they themselves had experienced combat with the very enemy he was fighting out in the stars. How could they know anything of the Goa'uld, or of events that transpired thousands of years ago?

"I'm not. About three years ago I was part of a team who went through the Stargate. I helped in destroying the Goa'uld Ra…we thought that was the end of it. It wasn't. There are more of them."

Yugi rolled into a tight ball. "This is what he meant, Ryou…this is what the Truth-god Re meant. This is why he cursed us…he knew it would never be over."

Ryou tapped out his pipe. He folded his knees up under his chin, his brow furrowing in thought. "Well, he said we would someday understand his reasons. Maybe we are coming to understand," he said.

Yugi chewed his bottom lip. He anxiously sought Daniel's eyes. "You defeated the Goa'uld Ra?"

"Yeah. We did." Daniel nodded quickly. Wow. He really should not have been telling them this. It was so classified. What the hell, they knew about the Goa'uld. They were like him, they had knowledge like him. Jack would understand wouldn't he?

Ah.

Yeah.

No.

Whatever.

"We kinda nuked him."

"You _nuked_ a Goa'uld?" Ryou blinked. His legs went loose, slipping down limply. "Oh my, well. I suppose that is rather _American_ of you."

Daniel frowned.

"Sorry," Ryou flinched, "being awfully stereotypical there. Being British I might have just sat around and had a cup of tea with the fellow. I do imagine it very much put a stick up the rear end of all System Lords, though, shoving a nuclear weapon up the rear-end of their leader."

"We didn't know there was other…Goa'uld."

"Ohhhh," Yugi groaned, gripping his head in a bundle as he rolled around on his couch. "No, you didn't just leave it at that did you? You killed him and forgot about the whole thing? You practically waved a massive flag, HEY, LOOK, and then just asked to be shot at."

"We didn't know." Daniel spread his hands. "I didn't know! I stayed behind on the planet and we buried that Stargate! I got married! I swear, I didn't know. Then Apophis came and took my wife and I…I…lost her. Now I'm here trying to fight them and get her back. Hey, if you guys knew all this before-hand, why didn't you dig up the Stargate before we did?" He threw the ball back in their court.

"That is a bit of a long story that we'll have to tell you tomorrow." Ryou sighed heavily. "Right now, I am just so thankful we have not been seen as a big threat yet."

"They must really think the ancient dynasty is over and the Shadows are all gone." Yugi touched the pendent around his neck.

"Yami could not father children, Yugi, it would stand to reason they would simply presume that there would be no more Shadow-Casters."

"Well they're idiots, Yami's line wasn't the only one the Truth-god's experimented on and it wasn't just the men who passed it on either. Yami had three sisters. He married two of them!"

"And I married the other one." Ryou frowned, glancing aside. "And had two children, who would have most surely been very strong Shadow-Casters. Not to mention all my other lovely other little ankle-biters." He sighed heavily, "Gosh I loved those kids…" his eyes glazed over, "I loved them so much."

Yugi reached across, giving his friend's hand a tight squeeze. "Ryou."

Ryou stirred. "Sorry. Memories. Anyway. Surely the Goa'uld would not be stupid enough to think the Shadows are gone from Earth. Between just myself, I fathered a lot of children who carried on a line, and your sister's children as well, also Seths…"

"Ah…guys…" Daniel interjected. Their conversation had gone beyond any understanding now. Shadows, Yami—who was Yami—and marrying sisters? What was that about—honestly? And by the looks of it, Ryou did not have any children…anywhere…

Yugi shrugged. "Sorry Daniel, we're so used to our own company we go off on random tangents all the time."

"I guess you guys don't get visitors often."

"Very rarely." Ryou crinkled his brow. "Everyone seems to think my manor is haunted."

_Don't know where they'd get that idea from,_ Daniel thought inwardly. He noted Ryou's faint smile in his direction. Okay, that was not the least be creepy.

"So, they're back." Yugi turned toward the fire. "For good. I really should have expected this, you know."

"I…I believe…that there has to be a way to defeat them, somewhere, out there." Daniel bowed his head, wishing he did not feel so guilty for causing such agony to the young man. Why did he feel guilty, he barely knew him, and yet, he could have sworn they had been friends for centuries. "I hoped this tablet would hold the key."

Yugi peered through his bangs, his gaze harrowed, looking older than he was for a brief moment. "I think you may be right, Daniel Jackson."

000

000000

Yugi had retreated into an unusual glazed silence and the conversation had died down, making the remainder of the supper an affair of flippant chit-chat. Daniel found himself glancing every so often toward Yugi, noticing he was gently stroking the golden pendent under his red scarf. Finally Edison broke their night apart and Ryou thanked him as he took away the remains of the supper.

Ryou dusted at his pants, giving Daniel a tired smile. He still had not inquired after the Count's age, but it just seemed so irreverent, for at times he looked as though he had lived more life-times than he honestly wanted too.

"Come, I'll take you to your chamber." Ryou motioned with a twirl of his fingers.

Somehow the way he said chamber made Daniel think eerily of some creepy torture room. He put that thought aside, finding it amusing, considering the situation. Ryou brushed Yugi's hair briefly, causing the young man to stir and look up at him like a child.

"I'm just taking Daniel to his chamber, I'll be back."

Yugi puffed out his cheeks. "Ah, yep." He flashed a beaming grin. "Guess we can get into things in the morning."

"What _things_?" Daniel stifled a yawn.

"We haven't told you how we know of the Goa'uld, and you haven't met our other-halves." Ryou wandered to the door. "And we shall be leaving on Monday for Japan."

"Japan?" Daniel stepped back in alarm. "But…I…just got here." There was an entire amazing town to explore, and the ruins of what looked like an old civilization, not to mention the forest and the castle grounds! Wait, what was he thinking, he was supposed to be here to look for a way to defeat the Goa'uld, not go all archeological-goof-ball—besides—he had to save his wife!

"And you're going to Japan." Yugi spread his hands. "Hey, think of it as an adventure!"

"A kidnapping more like it." Daniel grumbled.

"Or a kidnapping." Ryou chuckled, wandering out into the hall. Daniel followed, barely catching Yugi's goodnight, which he realized only after it was called out, was spoken to him in Japanese. He caught himself smiling. At least he was not too rusty on his Earth languages.

The door was swiftly shut and Ryou lit a candle with the nearest oil-lamp, using the small light to guide them down the long corridors. He had so much he wanted to ask the young Count about the manor but no questions flowed from his mouth, maybe it was the jet-lag finally catching up with him.

Ryou drew to a stop at a large door. He took out a chain of keys from around his neck and unbolted the lock. The door creaked open with a slow grind.

"Your chamber, my good visitor, within you shall find everything you need. If you desire something simply call for Edison by giving a loud shout, he shall hear you."

"He'll hear me?"

"Indeed." Ryou nodded. "Edison knows all, hears all, sees all within this manor. Sometimes I believe he is this manor's very soul." He twittered a laugh as he slid the keys back around his neck. "Poppycock for sure, but it is a comforting thought sometimes. Goodnight, Doctor Jackson."

"Wait! Ah…I just…there is one thing…there was this boy," Daniel caught Ryou just as he eased away, "he found me on the road into Town and led me to the Tavern but he just vanished when I reached the door."

Ryou passed him the candle, the glow catching on his eerie brown eyes, turning them a glitter of yellow, highlighting his high cheek bones. Daniel caught the shine of his faint unshaven chin, the stubble of transparent hair almost invisible unless caught by rays of light.

"Blue eyes, freckles, hair kind of rusty brown and wearing a Transformer themed shirt?"

"Yes." Daniel nodded.

If there was anything that betrayed a fondness in Ryou's voice it was the sudden warmth that grew tenfold. "That would have been Timothy. You had the pleasure of meeting one of the Earth Sprites that live in the forest beyond my manor. Timothy is quite old, but he comes from this town, many, many centuries ago so, he enjoys visiting from time to time. The folk here have become rather accustomed to his presence." Ryou smiled, "Why, he even attends Church some Sunday mornings and plays with the other children."

A soft moan drifted down the corridor, startling the flame of the candle. Daniel blankly gaped at Ryou. Good grief, the man was being entirely serious; he was not even fluttering an eyelid in jest at his words. Was he supposed to believe him or not? Then how could he deny what he had seen on the boy?

"I…"

Ryou touched his arm. "You see Doctor Jackson, there is more to this very Earth than what meets the first glance. You saw that before everyone else, now are you willing to step even further and accept even more wonderful things? If so…then be ready tomorrow morning for a wonderful tale, if not, then do not bother leaving your room."

"Sleep well." Ryou seemed to glide away, his walk elegantly poised, so unlike little Yugi's fancy happy hop. Daniel eased on the door, opening it and wandering into the lavish room laid out for him. His suitcase awaited him upon a four-poster bed, set across from a blazing fireplace keeping warm the room. Heavy, ancient curtains draped richly over a towering window and the rug under his shoes appeared so luscious that he could have sworn it was brand-new and yet its scent was old and worn.

He lit the lantern beside his bed and set down the candle, wandering to the window, easing aside the curtain to peer out into the night. He was facing the woodland beyond the borders of the Manor gardens an unconscious shiver trickled down his spine.

He wondered if he would sleep at all tonight.

The tips of his fingers brushed over the mobile in his pocket. Should he call Jack and inform him of his discovery, that he had found others who knew of the Goa'uld and the Stargate. This was cause of alarm, their secret was known! He bit his lips and pulled his hand away, crunching it into a fist.

No. He would wait. He needed more information. There was something going on here that went far deeper than then Goa'uld and the Stargate itself, something that would lead him to another place on his own journey.

"Sorry Jack…not this time."

000

00000

Settling into the luscious four-poster bed Daniel had been positive that sleep would not come easy within the large chamber that had been provided for him. It was exceedingly huge, and like the castle he was within, it fitted the theme with rolling rugs and a suit of armor stationed to one side. A blazing fire warmed the interior while a storm had gusted in over the moors to the south of the town.

While the heavy duvets of the bed felt weighed and safe around him as he clambered deep into them, Daniel lay staring at the ceiling, smelling the scent of the burning pine wood. He was sure sleep was far from him thus it was with a startled jostle that he came awake as a warm greeting gently prodded him.

"Good morning Master Jackson."

Daniel struggled out of the heavy blankets, staring across the chamber at the open door. Edison stood at the entrance, pleasant smile creasing his cheeks. Did the butler ever get tired of wearing such a plastic look, he had to wonder?

"Ah, good…morning?" Morning, was it seriously morning already? He had not even put his head on the pillow, or so it felt. He looked to the shut curtains. It sounded like the furious storm had not eased up, for the wind was howling at the glass and rattling the shutters with terrible scratching knives.

"It is a rather nasty day outdoors. The Count is doing his best to appease the Air Elementals this morning so he may be late in breaking his fast, however after you have washed and dressed you are most welcome to join the Darks in the dining room." Edison inclined his head.

Daniel shuffled out of the bed. "Ah…thanks…ah…where is the bathroom, by the way?"

Who were _the Darks_ and what were _Air Elementals_?

Edison motioned to a door at the side of his chamber, near the creepy suit of armor. Daniel pursed his lips.

"The hot water tap is a bit temperamental; give it a good solid shove." With that the butler turned aside, shutting the door behind him. Daniel breathed out slowly. Wow. So he had not been dreaming at all. He really was still inside the manor, he had meet Yugi and Ryou from his emails and they had blown his mind with the revelation that he was not the only one in his field who knew of the Goa'uld language or that the Goa'uld exited.

Today he was ready to learn more, more about the two strange young men and how they could possibly know about the Stargate, a guarded secret he himself had be a part of guarding.

But first a shower was in order.

000

000000

When he had lived amongst the people of Abydos, with his wife and her family—her large family—it had been a rather humble life but he had loved it. It had felt more real to Daniel than his existence on Earth, and now all that felt like an eerie dream-state, something he had hallucinated when struck over the head by a Jaffa staff-weapon and Jack had simply shook him awake. He only had the laughter of his wife, her sweet touches, her scent and her memories to tell him that she was real.

So it was strange that walking down the corridors of the manor with Edison's tall, lankly form a few steps ahead of him, that this incredible place and the weird inhabitants therein felt real.

He had woken up that morning without the sensation that he was in a fantasy, that reality was surrounding him, but he could not, for the life of him, understand how or why when the settings were so surreal. Maybe he had become accustomed to the fantastic—maybe it was now the dullness that had become imaginary and all the ignorant people were in fact living in a dream-world.

Edison eased open twin doors, stepping to one side and giving a curt bow. Daniel rubbed the back of his neck.

"Thanks Edison."

"You are most welcome, Master Jackson."

"Ah…_just_ Daniel." He echoed Yugi from the day before with a devious smile.

Edison gave a chuckle. "No one is _just_ _anything_ in this house-hold, sir."

"I figured that."

"No, you honestly have no idea." Edison motioned him into the dining room and Daniel scooted in. His jaw would have dropped to the varnished wooden floor if he had let it. He was so relieved his life as an archeologist had prepared him for marvelous sights such as the embossed ceiling and the golden arched walls, held high with ancient beams.

Was he supposed to sit on the chairs that looked as if they had been carved from some ancient wood, worth more than his entire house, at a round table appearing crafted from one singular enormous trunk of a giant tree centuries old?

From a seat a short man quickly stood. Daniel took a double take, for a moment he could have sworn it was Yugi but after a second glance it was apparent it was not. Edison bowed much lower in greeting as the man, attired entirely in black, strolled quickly up to them in movements that were dance like in quality.

"Good Morning Edison!"

Daniel could not place his accent. Maybe it was Orient? Yet there was a flavor to it that was instantly fascinating—almost as if it did not belong to this world or time.

"I see you failed to seize the morning paper, sir." Edison motioned across the table.

Daniel spied the only occupant seated; he was hidden by the large newspaper, seemingly content to ignore their company.

"It was a close match. Sadly my stealth abilities are somewhat lacking. The cat saw me and demanded attention. I could not disobey a command from a creature so pure."

Edison shook his head, "They shall be the death of you both. I believe I shall get you a kitten for your anniversary sir. It will save me so much grief."

"You are a cruel man, Edison."

"Indeed sir." Edison waved a hand and Daniel stood straight, realizing the butler was indicating him in the gesture. "This is the highly esteemed Doctor Daniel Jackson that your beloved Light was so flabbergasted about. I believe you have not had a pleasure of being physically equated yet."

"No, we haven't." The young man's smile was radiant, though something was strangely off-putting about it now that Daniel stared longer at it. It was not a real smile. It was fake and the young man seemed to know that he knew it was a false smile for it suddenly vanished and became a much more natural, placid expression.

"Yugi has told me so much about you, Daniel. It is such an honor to finally meet the man who figured out that the Pyramids were more than mere tombs. I loved your book. My grandfather gave it to me as a birthday present one year. I must say, I feel like I've known you ever since the first word!" A scared, weather worn hand was extended and he took it. He had never had so much praise for his pathetic book before.

"Thank you," he spluttered.

"Oh, no, no, it is I who should be thanking you. Oh, sorry…manners," the young man rubbed a hand through his golden bangs, stringing them back through ebony locks, "I'm Yami Motou, and the guy behind the paper is Bakura Felix."

Daniel paused at the name. Was not that simply Count Ryou's last name? And was this the _Yami_ that Ryou and Yugi had been discussing last night?

"Bakura?" Daniel quizzed.

"Yep." The grunt came over the paper. "_Just_ Bakura. If you call me Felix, I will rip your balls off."

"Felix?"

Yami chuckled. "The name on his passport. It was a joke from a long time ago. Ryou will shout it at him if he's angry."

"Pissed-off more like it."

"Language, Bakura." Yami chided.

"Shut your hole Pharaoh, I keep hearing audible words coming out of it."

Yami grimaced. "Someone rolled out of the wrong side of the Ring." He turned to Daniel. "I apologize for not being present to greet you yesterday but I was otherwise occupied." Yami gave a slight honorary bow, using an arm to indicate the nearby chair. "I am Yugi's other-half, so to say." His wiry smile over features far too pleasant looking for the dark sheen in his slanted eyes betrayed amusement at his own words.

Yugi's other-half—well, they did look a little alike if it were not for the differing nationalities. They had the most fascinating tri-colored hair and though Yugi kept his in a frazzled chaotic mop, Yami must have pulled the short straw and gained the fair easier to deal with silken locks that hid his high cheeks and ears.

Daniel slid into the offered seat. Yami rounded the table, collapsing into his own chair.

"So, I guess you're not Yugi's long lost brother or something crazy like that—cousin maybe?"

"Nope." Yami cracked a delighted laugh. He shook his head. "Can't really play that card can we." He looked down at his bare hand, studying the skin tone thoughtfully. "I'm a born and bred son of the Nile," Yami threated his hands together, neatly setting them atop the table as Edison set a steaming cup of coffee beside him, "though my mother was a beautiful Persian princess, awarded to my father after he defeated her brother, the King of Persia, in battle. T'was quite the bloody one I was led to believe. According to Yugi, as I look nothing like my father, I get my good looks from my mother."

"And your serious lack of height." Bakura added from behind his newspaper. It rustled as he turned a page. "Though that could have been all the interbreeding you stinking-sods did."

Yami tittered softly. "Possibly." He took up his coffee, giving it a long drink. "I ascended the throne due to my three older brothers dying rather miserable deaths. One to the plague, another drowned in the Nile after a hippopotamus hunt went foul and the third…well…the false-god Baal saw to his untimely trip to the Afterlife."

Yep, this was very much the Yami that they must have been briefly discussing last night—the one who married his sisters—It was not a matter that his toast was getting cold, or that Edison was serving up more coffee into his mug, it was the fact that the stunning, ethereal man across the table, was speaking to him as if he was supposed to believe he had stepped right out of a historical saga.

Daniel breathed out. "You're…Egyptian…"

Yami's smile curled up his cheeks into a diabolic smirk. He vanished. Daniel jerked back, abruptly shooting out of his chair. The piece of furniture was caught in mid-flight by a coil of shadows as a figure was shaped up from the floor and just as suddenly as the young man had vanished he reappeared.

"Come, come, Doctor Jackson…you have always been curious about who it was who defeated the Goa'uld and booted them off our lovely little Earth. Well…here I am, I am that Pharaoh."

"He says it like he was the only one who had any part it in." Bakura snarled behind his paper, "It was a decade long war, and it involved a Culling that slaughtered billions. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. We were rather torn up about it by the end of the long road. I was fine with the whole death thing. The not dying is what sucked."

"Oh come now, Bakura, it isn't so bad." The Shadow Yami sighed, slinking black whiffs of smoke around playfully.

"Not now, but it was."

"What the hell are you?" Daniel pulled back against the nearest wall, staring between Yami and the newspaper hidden Bakura.

Yami set the chair back in its place. Tentacles of shadows danced around his knee high boots, seeping across the floor like bubbling magma.

"I told you, I am the Pharaoh who defeated the Goa'uld." He motioned to himself. "In the flesh…or well…not so much anymore, do you believe in the Soul, Doctor Daniel Jackson? What I am living in now is my horrible excuse of a cursed Afterlife. This," he waved his arms around, shimmering glistening shadows around himself like a cloak, "is what I get for playing with the big boys, everlasting death and unimaginable power."

Daniel back tracked his brain. Was this the reason why Teal'c knew the symbol of Earth, why the Goa'uld feared the Tau'ri, because there was actually a reason to do so and it was not just them sitting under their little mountain having nuclear weapons?

"Yami! I told you not to scare Doctor Jackson. We haven't told him about you guys yet!" Yugi's voice startled him, almost making him lurch into the air. For such a small fellow, who looked as if he could not stand up and speak loudly before anyone, he sure had a voice that he could make heard a mile. Daniel felt him brush past and stroll up to the shadowy creature. "What am I supposed to do with you Yami?"

"If he could not handle me then he is not worthy." Yami's reply was monotone.

Yugi stamped on a tentacle of shadows with the heel of his boot. Daniel could have sworn he heard it squeal as it retreated from the young man, back into the folds of the creature's black boots.

"I guess I can be glad you did not force him into a Shadow Game."

Yami raised both his eyebrows suggestively. "I was tempted."

"Gah!" Yugi spun away, "Don't even go there, my other!"

"I am so sorry." Yugi grabbed his arm, dragging him away from the sinister—thing. "They very rarely get the chance to meet new people they can show off around and it gets to their heads."

"I had nothing to do with it," Bakura grumbled, still behind his newspaper.

"Shut up Bakura!" Yugi snapped.

It was strange, Daniel felt himself shiver. Why did it felt as though he had just come away with his life still intact?

Yugi managed to smile, like he knew what he was feeling, but only managed to look terribly apologetic. Daniel forced himself to focus on the young man, not on the two dark, boding presences in the room. Yugi appeared to have tried to tame his mop of hair to some degree after a shower, but it was his outfit that Daniel could not resist gawking at. Fluorescent colors lit him up like a light-bulb, bright blue jeans and a shirt of shark yellow, over hung with pink netting yet still, he wore the old battered red scarf slung lazily around his neck. It must have been something special to have had a place around his neck, when it clashed with a well thought out outfit.

Yugi smirked. "Would you believe me if I told you that I raided Ryou's wardrobe. These are his clothes from when he was sixteen. I remember buying them with him. We went through a really crazy stage together. I didn't bring any clothes with me. I haven't been shopping for almost five years."

Daniel blinked. "Why?"

"Traveling I guess. I pack light. Just take what I need and everything else comes along whenever it so choses. All I ever really, truly have to have is a good pair of boots, jeans, a shirt, a jacket and my scarf and off I go." He gave a soft laugh. "I never would have imagined I would have ended up a seasoned traveler by twenty five, but Yami brought me more happiness than I could ever have dreamed possible."

"He's your other-half?"

"Ryou said it was a long story, one we will tell you after breakfast. First I really think we should eat something. It's going to be a full day. I am famished." Yugi rubbed his stomach.

Yami appeared beside him in a swell of shadows.

"I do not know where all the food you eat goes, Aibou."

"I have hollow legs." Yugi blew a rasp. "And an incredibly good metabolism that Ryou would die for; considering I can eat an entire cake that would take him about five hours to run off." The young man flashed a charming smile. "I feel so evil."

Yugi slid into his chair

"It's about the evilest you're going to get, pip-squeak." Bakura's voice added once more.

What did that man look like, behind his paper?

Daniel scrubbed his eyes under his glasses as he sat back down hesitantly, wondering if his chair was going to stay there or pop right out from under him. This entire situation was more bizarre than even his marriage had been, and at the time, he had not even known he was getting married!

_Oh Jack, if you could see me now. I'm doing this for you, you know, because you keep wanting to find space-guns! _

But looking upon Yami, he was almost positive he was gazing at an alien now, or at least something that was near-alien like. At least, he was not Human—whatever he was appeared in Human form, but that seemed to be only a facade. Those eerie eyes that smiled at him told an entirely different story, hidden behind them was a creature, something out of time.

"Did you sleep well Daniel?" Yugi offered conversation politely.

"Ah, yes…yes I did, thank you. Though, that storm is something isn't it."

"Yeah," Yugi buttered his toast. "Came tearing through the moors. Nasty thing. Calmed now though," he glanced around the dining room, biting into his toast. "Actually, that'd be Ryou right now, returning from being his heroic self, saving the Town—"

"Good Grief!" Right on cue Ryou burst through the main doors. "That does it, if those Air Elementals think they can just swoop in here and cause mayhem because it's so jolly tasty and what-not they have got something coming to them. I do not appreciate this kind of weather out of season. Have you seen what they did to the crops! The crops Bakura! How are we supposed to survive the winter without a harvest to live on?"

Ryou swung around the table, "Air Elementals, such a frustrating bunch of stuck up snobs."

"Well the wind has died down a bit, you must have said something to scare them off." Yugi looked up from his plate.

"I threatened to use the Ring." Ryou crinkled his nose. "And bind them all into jewels for my own personal use."

Bakura cracked a laugh from behind his newspaper. "That's my darling landlord."

"If they do not move on by nightfall I will march back out there and call on the Forest to help." Ryou flounced his arms around dramatically as he collapsed into his seat beside Bakura.

"I am sure, sir, that the Forest Sprites will be more than willing to aid in the replanting of the towns harvest." Edison poured tea for the Count.

"Okay, I think I've got it. This is some kind of magical land, right?" Daniel questioned. Maybe he had really wandered through some kind of portal on the way here. Well, it was possible; anything was possible in his crazy life!

"There is no such thing as magical lands." Yugi sighed, his expression moue as if all his dreams had been shattered.

"There are many dimensions placed over ours, Daniel, this town is simply one of the few places where several of those dimensions intersect. I have recorded about eight of them, though there could be many more that I am unaware of." Ryou summarized quickly. "This castle was built as a plug, so to speak, to stop the cracks in the dimensions from opening any further."

Daniel leant back in his chair. His head was spinning. All this and he had only just got through breakfast. "I wish I'd known…that Earth had places like this."

"But you did know," Yami offered, "you discovered the Pyramids were truly landing pads for our space-ships. You allowed yourself to believe that humanity was greater than people believed we were…that we had already reached the stars."

Daniel nodded. "Now you're asking me to believe that there is more beyond the stars…in things like Souls." He managed to glance at the shadow-creature. At least he had returned to a solid Human-shape—for now—but he knew what it really was and it was still creepy, he could still feel the shadows all through the room, staring at him.

"That there are layers within layers." Yugi added, "That the stars have stars inside them. That the world doesn't just stop at what your eyes see."

It was along the lines of something like what Sam would have said. Because she always spoke about science being like a faith, not being able to see the science did not mean it was not there, she just had to prove its existence and that is what she adored about her job—it's what drove her to do her greatest work, her desire to find out more.

Had he lost that deep yearning in losing his beloved wife, in finding himself caught up in the fighting of the Goa'uld—his childlike wonder of the universe and how grand and incredible it truly was had always been his greatest asset, he had dared to believe in the impossible and it had made him good at what he did.

He bowed his head. He felt a light touch on his hand. Yugi briefly made contact with his fingers and an inner warmth enveloped him for a moment. He looked up, staring at him in confusion. Yugi simply smiled and shrugged.

"We all lose our way sometimes, that is why we were placed upon this dear Earth with others, so that we would be able to act as guides for one another." Ryou offered.

Daniel nodded. "I think so too."

He felt that way so often about Jack. He had met Jack when the man had been at his lowest, he had lost his son—Charlie had shot himself with Jack's own gun—his wife had devoiced him—Jack had been ready to commit suicide by going on a mission he was positive he would never return from and yet out of that terrible happening they had forged a bond and a friendship worth all the stars in the universe. Humans were not supposed to face tribulations alone. Earth was not supposed to face the Goa'uld threat alone.

As though he simply materialized out of thin air Edison set the tray upon the table. "The tickets for your flight to Japan, sir." He turned away, gliding back to whenever he had appeared from.

"Thank you Edison." Ryou called out, flipping through the files.

"Good, good." He glanced over his glasses, peering across the table at Yami. "Sorry my dear, thought you and Bakura could travel Item style, gives us Light lads a chance to take three seats for ourselves. You know, to chat and catch up on boring things."

"You're rejecting us?" Bakura set the paper down, suddenly revealing himself.

Daniel gaped.

The man was a coppery toned, Arabic warrior, even dressed in a loose gray sweater it was obvious to see the broad shoulders and firmed muscles. What should have been a tussled mane of black hair was pure white, mirroring Ryou's almost layer for layer. If it were not for the differing races Daniel could have sworn they could have been brothers.

Ryou clasped his hands together, smiling tenderly at his doppelganger, "Darling, you remember the last time you travelled on a plane. You complained the entire way about it interfering with your physical body. It was terrible. You will be so much happier this way, and so will I."

"He has a point; we won't have to worry about the turbulence causing issue with our physical forms." Yami rubbed his chin. He eased up from his chair, "I'll proceed with the packing, Aibou."

"Don't forget my toothbrush!" Yugi called out to the departing man.

Yami gave a back-handed wave.

Yugi narrowed his brow. "He always forgets the tooth-brush."

Bakura gave a long yawn, stretching his arms out before rising to his feet in a slinky action. He clasped Ryou's shoulders, giving them a strong rub. "I'll be out with the horses, if we'll be away for a while then I should take them for a ride."

Yami suddenly reappeared in a twirl of shadows, beaming like a boy with a sweet. "I'll come."

"What about the packing?" Yugi pointed at the spirit.

"What packing?" Yami vanished. "You don't own anything but a tooth-brush."

Bakura cracked a grin, giving a wave as shadow's engulfed his shape.

Yugi rolled his eyes, "Those two and their horses."

"Well, at least this way they won't bother us." Ryou poured himself more tea.

"True." Yugi settled back in his chair, he fiddled with a piece of toast crust. "It is a long story…"

Daniel looked between them both, their serious expressions. Ryou sipped his tea and leant back with a long sigh. "You can start Yugi, you awakened the Shadows after all."

Yugi breathed in deeply, he scratched his chin and gave a thoughtful pout. "Well…about…nine years ago…it all began with a wish—a wish to have some friends…"

000

0

It was late afternoon, and they had moved the too the warmth of the drawing-room, by the time Yugi had finished his long tale. Ryou had interjected at times, expanding on areas here and there and Daniel had allowed himself the indulgence of questions that both seemed willing to answer. Indeed, never had he felt more at home, and never had a story so enthralled him as such a tale that the two young men, young—who was he kidding—they had seen more in their life-times combined than many would ever hope to achieve in a single decade. Maybe that was what created such a familiarity, they had witnessed the impossible, the incredible, and they had dared to believe, just like him.

Daniel stared silently at the crackling fire, digesting the new information and carefully slotting it into places within his mind. He heard Ryou light a match and peered up through his bangs, watching the gentleman warm his pipe and contently wedge it between his lips before easing back into his couch.

It was inconceivable, looking between the two young men, to think that they were the mortal embodiments of a physically split Soul. That was an _idea_, wasn't it—a _soul_? Something that was debatable? The soul did not actually exist, and yet, he was looking at proof of it—was he—he could not deny what he had witnessed in the dining room, that absurd Pharaoh, his sinister eyes, chilling smile so symmetrical and perfect that it was eerie and menacing.

"So…there are seven of these Millennium Items, does that mean there are seven of you half-soul folk? I…wasn't sure if I caught that correctly?"

Yugi scratched his chin, "Ah, no, only the Pharaoh and the Goa'uld Zorc, were caught up in the dimensional rift between the Light and Dark dimensions…and Zorc was currently inside of the First Prime of the Pharaoh who was—" Yugi jutted a finger at Ryou, "his past life, the sour-face guy you met earlier…so there are only Ryou and myself—"

"However in saying that," Ryou interjected, "there is also Seto Kaiba."

"Ah yes," Yugi frowned, "Seto and Seth, ever the enigma."

Daniel shuffled the name away. He was sure they were not really meaning the _Seto Kaiba_ that Sam was always gushing over in her scientific baffling whenever he popped into her office for coffee break.

"Seth was one of the Pharaoh's High Priests and he held the Millennium Rod. He had sworn after learning about prophesy of the Truth-god Re, that he would not allow the Pharaoh and his First Prime to kill each other…he failed in his vow…which, you know, he always would have. So he made another vow, he promised after the death of his beloved Pharaoh, that if his Pharaoh could not pass into the Afterlife, neither would he. He managed to seal a part of himself inside of the Millennium Rod, which affectively meant he was reincarnated into this time period and Seto and I were destined to meet. We were fated, so to speak, to always end up as friends—or enemies." Yugi chuckled.

Daniel rubbed his brow. "These Items must have some incredible technology behind them."

Yugi plucked at the golden inverted pyramid hanging loosely around his neck. It looked as though it must have weighed a ton, but he carried it rather well. Ryou's Ring was far more sinister in appearance and Daniel cringed at the thought of the spikes and the description Ryou had given of their ensnaring pain when buried into his flesh.

"Something about the Truth-god's nano-technology or whatever, I donno." Yugi shrugged, "Way beyond anything we understand." He motioned to Ryou, "Though Seto has tried to decode them, I figure he'll get around to it one day. A handpicked few are selected to weld the Items, Seto is one of them. So he has an Item to fiddle around with."

"They each process a unique ability. Yugi for example can transport himself, and others, through dimensions, for a price of course…and I can find whatever you so desire, if you desire to give up something in return." Ryou's lips turned up with a bitter perk. "The Rod can control people's minds, but if you use it, you will feel their agony. The Scales will way your fortune and its bearer must take the weight. The Eye will reveal the thoughts of folks around you and, well, to use it in the first place you have to rip out your eye and replace it with the Eye…but it will also mirror back to you your deepest fears and slowly drive you insane."

Yugi poured himself a glass of water, "And then there is the Necklace, if you dare to wear that you can see the future…" he shivered, "and you will forever be trying to change that which you see. Being a bearer of a Millennium Item is a curse. I don't recommend it."

"Things that are made by tampering with the Dark Dimension are never good for you." Ryou offered ominously. He shuffled around in the pocket of his coat, pulling out a container of pills.

Yugi glanced at him. "You forgot again?"

"Bakura just reminded me." His eyes went to the old grandfather clock across the room, "Guess I got engrossed in the story. It has been a while since we told it to someone." He smiled, "Should have just got him to pick up Joey's book at the airport, it is still on the best-sellers list is it not?"

Yugi laughed, "Oh, but Joey makes it sound so much more glamorized." He rolled his eyes at Daniel's questioning look. "One of our old school mates who we mentioned, he started writing a series based on our adventures…they've actually become incredibly popular! I even believe a movie is being tossed about?"

"Hmm, I believe so," Ryou was fiddling with his pipe. "I hope I am played by some handsome dashing young lad in whom hordes of young girls will obsess over."

"You're hilarious."

"I know."

"Whoa, whoa…wait!" Daniel made a cutting motion with his hand, "You guys let him write a book about your lives, is it accurate? I mean, the information…all of it?"

"A lot of the history is accurate, Joey came up with entirely different references for many things, made it a lot more like a fantasy, but he felt it was important for some reason to tell the story of the Nameless Pharaoh in a manner that this era could have the legend continue. Personally the way he wrote us all we're nothing like our real selves; I'm not gay, for starters, but my character in the novels is…and Ryou isn't a vampire who woos poor unsuspecting girls into his embrace."

"Oh yes, I am _not_ a vampire." Ryou puffed out his cheeks. "No idea where he got that idea from, honestly, a vampire. He may as well have insulted me to my face."

"At least he didn't make you _sparkle_."

"I would have killed him."

Daniel shook his head, a small smile tweaking the sides of his lips. "To think that while I was trying to prove my theory of the pyramids being landing-pads you where saving the world without me. I wish we had met a long time ago."

Yugi tucked his legs tightly under each other, "Paths take different roads for many reasons. If you had never taken your path then the Stargate would not be where it is now and we would never be having this conversation…and you would never have found that tablet about the weapons of the Truth-gods."

Daniel nodded. "Basically you're saying somehow we've doomed Earth but managed to find a way to save it at the same time?"

"Always happens that way." Ryou poured himself another cup of tea. Daniel watched him, wondering just how much of it the man had managed to consume over the course of their conversation. His pot seemed to be never ending. Actually now that he thought about it, so did the coffee pot he had Yugi had been consuming. He sucked in a deep breath, putting the crazy thought aside, this was a magical manor, he could not judge never ending tea-pots.

"Why have you told me all this? I mean, you've obviously kept this a secret for such a long time, so why now?"

"You came to us with the tablet," Yugi pointed to the offending object still resting upon the coffee table, "and we happened to be searching for the…Stargate…do you see, Daniel, you found us, people who can help you, and we found you, someone who can help us. "

"We have come to trust in the threads of fate, that they do not lead people together without reason." Ryou finished swallowing his pills. He played with the tea in his cup.

Daniel frowned.

Yugi laughed. "We were supposed to meet Daniel, here, now, this place and time…everything we have ever done, has led us all to this very conversation. It is a fixed point in time. The Truth-god Re cursed our souls a long time ago and we believe he did it so that we could always protect this planet."

"You honestly believe that there are real ancient gods out there?"

"They are other aliens." Ryou glanced up, "You know, like the Goa'uld, just not hell bent on dominating the socks off us. We do not know much about the Truth-god's but we think they are an alien race who predates the Goa'uld's dominion on Earth—the Goa'uld stole their identities."

"Makes sense." Daniel mused. "We know the Goa'uld didn't create the Stargate system."

"And they stole our technology, our ships, our beautiful ships…" Yugi whispered, "I loved my ship." He shook his head suddenly, "Sorry, mixed up memory."

Ryou laughed. "It was a beautiful ship, I will give you that."

"Interesting to think that Human civilization has declined since then." Daniel looked to the curtained window. "I mean, in a way, we no longer have space-travel, no ships."

"We are children really, back then and still now, just beginning to reach out into the stars. The Goa'uld almost wiped us out, the _Culling of Earth_ was a near extinction wide event Daniel…its little wonder that it has taken us time to find out feet again. We had to build ourselves back up from the start."

Daniel looked back toward Yugi. "You know…I think you're right," he studied the young man's pale eyes, their eerie unnatural color shining with a backlit glow, "I think your Truth-god Re did curse you for a reason. We learn from our history, and you are living history. We have to make sure what happened once never happens again." He fisted his hands. "Earth deserves to take its place in the galaxy."

"I am glad we agree." Yugi sat back with a sigh. He tapped the tablet with his foot. "So, now that you know our back-story…do you see why we kinda freaked out when you contacted us with the information about this tablet of yours?"

Daniel scrubbed a hand through his hair.

"Yeah…I'm going to hazard a guess and say you think the god mentioned in this tablet is your Truth-god Re, right?"

Ryou clapped his hands. "Oh bravo, right off the mark!"

"And it makes mention of the Inverted Pyramid, which is your Puzzle," Daniel pointed to Yugi, "And of the other Items…"

Yugi nodded. "Which would have meant utterly nothing to you but a bucket load to us. You see, the Millennium Items aren't mentioned in Earth History at all, not a peep, and this was on purpose. Every piece of evidence of their existence was wiped out."

"Like the Stargate." Daniel mused.

"Indeed, just like the Stargate." Yugi agreed. "It was done on Yami's order before he died. He decreed that after his death the Stargate was to be buried and hidden away and the Millennium Items along with it. So that the Goa'uld could not return to Earth easily and gain access to the Dark Dimension again."

"I see…but I found this tablet on another world." Daniel shuffled forward, reaching for it and staring at it thoughtfully.

"And it was written by the scribe of a Goa'uld. You have found a very unique piece of history, Daniel." Ryou puffed a smoke ring. "The Truth-god Re and his kind did not leave behind many foot-prints but I think you might have just come across one of the few written codes to their hidden conclaves."

Daniel's chest swelled at the thought. "An ancient civilization just…waiting for us."

"Oh indeed." Yugi grinned. "Doesn't it just make you want to grab a shovel and start digging!" He puffed out his cheeks, rocking back and forth. "Think of what we'll find!"

"Hmm, but first," Ryou eased himself to his feet, wandering to the window and brushing aside the curtain to peer out at the passing storm. He sighed in relief. "Let's go home to Japan, after all, Daniel your government will need proof that we're not out to take the Stargate from you, right?"

"I get the feeling you would have already, if you wanted too." Daniel stared between them both thoughtfully.

Yugi sunk back into his lounge chair, his smile boyishly telling. "We're not that great."

Somehow Daniel did not believe him.

000000000000

0000000

Pastor Mark was a tall, stringy old man, shoulder length silver hair and a proud beard crowned skin that was wrinkled with a bit too much sun exposure. He had been places and seen things that no average Human could claim to have seen, and the sign was obvious in the glitter behind his green eyes.

Yugi smiled as he watched the sun catch the long hair the old man always kept neatly pulled back in a plat down his back. Finally the sun had graced them with its face, Ryou must have worked some magic for the Town folk on his last night with the elementals.

He had not always liked Pastor Mark. Their first meeting had been at the airport when he had first arrived in Britain, accompanying Ryou to the funeral of his father. Though Ryou had seemed to trust the old man, he had not, because Yami had not. Usually he liked to trust people, even when Yami had his hackles up, because he was a Light, he gave people the benefit of doubt but this religious man had one of those horrible fake smiles people wore to church that he could not stomach and he wore it the entire time through the funeral. It did not help that he could not empathically feel anything from the man, nor could he get past the strong mental shields he had. Few Humans had natural mental shields and it was off-putting when he ran across one who did.

Anyway, it had seemed the feeling was mutual. It had taken an attack on the town itself by an enemy he had never before encountered for him to realize Pastor Mark was not all that bad of a guy, and was in fact on their side. Poor Pastor Mark though, had been in a rather awful state upon finding out who _he_ was.

He had been surprised too, upon realizing who the preacher was—he had heard of Hunters, but he had never met a real one before and not one who was actually protecting a town _full_ of the weird and wonderful.

"Hey Pastor!" Yugi waved in greeting. "Loving morning isn't it?" He puffed out a breath of warm air.

Laugh lines crinkled creases around the preacher's cheeks as he ruffled Yugi's hair fondly. "The Count has been busy beseeching the weather gods I see?"

"I think it was more he threw a tantrum at them for ruining the Town's crops and threatened to turn off one of the lay-lines if they didn't stop with the storms."

"Ah. Well, he does have the power to do so. That is what you get for being a descendent of King Arthur."

"What, the ability to throw tantrums at weather gods?" Yugi raised an eyebrow, "Or to drink Human blood?"

"Cheeky boy."

Yugi slinked his thumbs into his belt, giving a grin. "So they say."

The manor doors opened and Yugi twisted around, watching as Ryou leapt out into the morning sunshine with a whoop. "Ah ah! Sun! Good! They listened to me for a change. Wonderful. Oh, Pastor Mark…how delightful of you to drop by, but we are heading off. Will not be back for a while I am afraid. You are welcome to join Edison for a spot of tea. I am sure he would love the company, and Timothy is with the horses."

"Where are you both going?" Mark leaned back, watching as the Audi pulled up to the stairs and Edison climbed out.

"We're heading off to Japan. We think we've found the Chappa'i." Yugi touched the Puzzle, giving it a gentle brush. "And another Item holder too."

"Really?" Mark smiled.

"I hope so." Yugi shrugged.

"Wait, Ryou is going with you?" Mark watched Ryou took the keys from Edison, passing the butler his case.

"Well I am not staying here am I?" Ryou rolled his eyes. "I have been here for a couple months, Mark, its time I spread my wings again."

"Ryou, I honestly don't think this is a good idea."

"Oh tish-tosh, Mark, it will be fine." Ryou bushed past him. "You worry far too much."

"You're the only living heir of the estate; if you die there is no one else to take the throne—"

"I am sorry, I cannot hear you over the sound of my own voice!" Ryou shouted over his shoulder. "I will see you later, Pastor."

Yugi watched him climb into the Audi. He briefed the retired Hunter with a half-smile. "We'll do our best to stay out of trouble. We've been off the grid for a couple years, surely that's long enough."

"The Illuminati has a price on the heads of any Methuselah, if Ryou shows his head, they'll cut it off for sure. I'll see if I know any Hunters in Japan, have them keep an eye out for you both but Yugi, please, remember that Ryou is one of the last of his race…"

Yugi shivered at the intense emotional surge from the old man, mental shields or not, the fear the Pastor felt over losing one of the ancients of a very old race was real, powerful and filled with such sorrow.

"And you also are very tasty morsel for them, don't forget that you're a Necromancer. Your soul would make one delightful gem."

Curling his lips at the word Yugi heard Yami's inward chuckle and shut the Pharaoh out.

Mark sighed, "You don't get much more powerful than that, lad. Necromancers come once every couple of centuries, you're a rare thing."

"Sounds to evil, you know, spirit-conductor is a better. However I prefer _Magi_, it's what the Tomb Keepers call me."

Mark's worn features shifted slightly and Yugi sensed his emotions lighten, as though a weight had lifted from his shoulders. "Someone who reads the stars, heh? That's what they call you?"

"Yep." He popped his lips, "Which, I do, you know…read the stars, kinda. Just not the way people think." Yugi shrugged. He held out his hand. "I know you'll look after the Town while we're gone…"

"Don't I always." Mark smiled.

Yugi flinched as a shout sounded and the twin doors groaned open as Daniel struggled through.

"I'm sorry! I'm here! Don't leave without me."

Daniel ambled quickly down the steps. Yugi raised his eyebrows at the passing archeologist who shouted another apology for his tardiness and scrambled into the car. He heard Mark chuckle deeply beside him and cast a questioning glance at the seasoned Hunter.

"So you honestly believe _he_ is the one?"

Yugi propped his hands on his hips, giving the preacher a wry smirk. "Hey! If you passed me on the street would you even think I was an ancient spirit-conductor who is destined to rule the galaxy?"

Mark's brushy eyebrows lifted under his graying sheet of hair. "You look like any other sassy-boy to me, Yugi Motou."

Yugi flashed a grin over his shoulder, "Why thank you, Pastor Mark." He winked as he climbed into the front passenger seat, giving a wave as he slammed the door. Ryou revved the engine and with a honk to Edison and Mark at the entrance of the manor he drove down the long drive-way.

Yugi sighed. "I was just starting to settle in too."

Ryou's hand brushed his knee. "Do not worry old chap, you will be seeing Jii-chan. What better chance to give him the Elixir."

"He won't accept it Ryou." Yugi turned to the window, watching the town's small houses, remembrances of difference ages throughout history, yet his focus stayed upon the reflection of his features on the glossy surface. Sure, over the past nine years since they had left high-school and split themselves as a group of friends he had aged. He had become far more of a young man, filling out and finally fitting into his shape, but that was due to the adventures, they had aged him, carved lines into his features like grooves on the surface of Mars.

Life would always continue to age him, but time would never touch him. He had joined the ranks of a few select people who lived outside of the effects of time. He still had no idea how to process the concept. How many Pharaohs had desired what he had, how many Emperors, how many kings, lords, priests, warriors and simple foolish folk wanted what he held.

He closed his eyes—one did not find eternal life and hope to live for eternity without regrets.

"You do not know that, Yugi." Ryou offered softly.

"He's old and alone and if he takes it he'll eventually have to leave the Game Shop—"

"Not necessarily." Ryou held up a hand, "Seto is a powerful, powerful man now...if he speaks, the earth moves under his feet."

"Yeah," Yugi grumbled, "no thanks to us."

"Cannot help the fact that without Seto none of what we did would have been possible. Repaying him in the one thing he desired was…unavoidable, but we have at least tied his destiny to ours in such a way that he will never turn against us."

"True." Yugi mused thoughtfully.

"Remember Re's words Yugi. You are the source of the Life, if you cut off the branch, the branch will die. It also means we must, above all else, protect you."

"Funny," rubbing his chin Yugi eased back in his chair, throwing one leg over the other, "Pastor Mark gave me the strict order to protect _you_."

Ryou snorted. "Last of my kind sermon again?"

"Yep."

His fellow Light gave a long sigh, turning the car out through the main gates of the town. They rose up over a hill top. Yugi touched his chest, sensing the pulling pain of leaving the area rich in veins flowing from the soil of the Earth. There were so few places left on the Earth like it, were the spirits of other dimensions could pass freely into their physical plane, the lay-lines caused incredible quakes of intense psyche-energy, and the Manor was built directly over five of the intersecting lines. Being there was like having the Puzzle around his neck on morphine, he could barely feel its presence, or the pain it brought. Leaving the edge of the town brought the crushing weight of it back upon his shoulders, and the sheering heat and grinding agony that came with having a split soul. He knew Ryou too would have been experiencing the same sensation and he reached out, touching his friends shoulder. This curse they could share in common.

"Bakura wants children."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me. He came from a large family."

"He wants them to be like me, but it's such a taboo Yugi, passing on the bacteria in my blood."

"I think the issue is more finding a woman who can cope with the whole split soul thing, personally."

Ryou groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Then there is the small fact that you're immortal, oh, and your children might be as well…oh…and…you're an alien. A geek-girl maybe?"

"Shut up. You are utterly no help!"

"You both do realize you're doing it again." Daniel interjected suddenly from behind.

Yugi blinked, turning slightly to face him. "Doing what?"

"Talking in another language, this time, I cannot understand a word you're saying."

"Ah, yeah, we switched languages so you wouldn't." Yugi waggled a finger at him. "Sorry for being anti-social. Don't worry, we were not discussing you. We were discussing Ryou's loins."

"Yugi!"

"What, it's true." Yugi shrugged.

"Sometimes I do not know why I put up with you."

"You love me."

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Daniel, do me a favor and ruthlessly kick his chair."

Yugi turned around in his cheer, peering around at Daniel. "He's not acting like a high-tooting Count now is he?"

Daniel gave a soft laugh. "After your story, I honestly don't care. The fact that you're both alive still boggles my mind."

Daniel looked back over the ridge at the town. Yugi could sense the man's longing to explore the ruins that scattered over the moors. He wished they had stayed longer. It was a good sign. He was touched by the fairy-kingdom, at least one of the dimensions, if not the Dark Dimension, he was at least touched by one of them and that was a good beginning.

"What's the Town called, by the way, I never actually heard its name?" Daniel looked back at them both.

Ryou smiled into the rear-vision mirror. "Folks call it by many names. It's not recorded on any known map and its location changes from season to season…why, we have even ended up in Scotland once!"

Yugi heard Daniel give a long deep breath.

Ryou continued. "But too those who seek it and to those who find it, it is called Camelot."

Daniel's cheeks paled. Yugi peered around at him. "Take deep breathes Daniel, don't faint."

"I…I…I spent the night in King Arthur's castle." Daniel spluttered.

Ryou chuckled. "How do you think I feel, being his decedent and having no one believe in his existence?"

"That sword…in the stone…in the center of the town…" Daniel latched onto the front seat, his face suddenly alight with hope. Yugi could not help but laugh at the excitement in his eyes. "It isn't…it could not possibly be…"

Ryou eased the car around a gentle corner, causing Daniel to thump back in his seat.

"Oh yes, my dearest Daniel, that was very much the grave of one beautiful, magnificent, wonderful King Arthur and yes, all the boy's try to pull Excalibur out of the stone. It has never worked. We are still waiting for our once and future king to be reborn. I am not him, if you are wondering. I tried pulling it out a long time ago."

Daniel sighed, "You would have fit the bill you know."

"Why thank you, that is very kind of you to say. Bakura thought so too, but he would have rather liked being a king by something other than a name—would have put him on par with Yami and they could finally bitch at each other over something other than Duel Monsters."

Yugi rolled his eyes.

"This," Daniel smiled wistfully, "has been the best leave ever."

Yugi shared a glance with Ryou. _Told you he was the one. He shines just like we do._

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_Yeah, this episode is still a lot of talking—I'm trying to lay in good ground-base. Next episode there is more action._

_Thanks for taking time to read/review. I hope you enjoyed it. _

_Keep well and safe._

_Until next time my dear readers._

_KL_


	4. GoDR Episode 3 - The City of Games

_Hey folks. I am so sorry that this is coming late. I had really hoped to upload an episode per-week but last week went rather sorely, I had to baby-sit my sick cousin and that threw me totally out of season, and I've had a headache/migraine for the past seven days and finishing this episode has been difficult without the ability to concentrate. It actually hasn't ended up finishing where I planned it too, I've had to cut it in half! Otherwise it would take me another week to complete and I decided it was more important to upload something than to add another 10,000 words to it. :D So I just add another episode to my plan, that's all I guess. _

_Anyway, I really hope you're all doing well. On the front of my novel...gee...working with people is a really interesting endeavor. I have no idea what's happening with the book, I think we're waiting on the cover-artist, but that's the last email I had from the publishers. So *shrug* I'm just trying really hard to be patient. I worked so hard on the editing with the editor to get it done really quickly and now stalling feels so weird. Anyway, it will happen when it happens I suppose. :D I'll keep you posted. Publishing a book is not a piece of cake, I can tell you that. XD  
_

_Please, enjoy the update! Thanks so much for all your support, kindness and your reviews. *hug* _

_Take care!_

_KL_

Episode Three: A City of Games

Domino—its very name provoked in Yami the recollection of childhood memories that did not belong to him, they were all Yugi's. Just like his Aibou experienced his past so did he often stumble upon the pockets of emotions that burst like bubbles to spill memories over his mind, filling him with the thrill and glee of his reincarnations home. Walking down the street toward the Game Shop Yami studied the new pavement, the freshly lined asphalt of the road, and the smell of the untarnished carpet from the houses that had recently been refurbished. Nothing looked the same as it once had in Yugi's memories, only the Game Shop remained the same on its little corner, sitting there as if nothing had ever transpired to the world around it.

Folks flocked to it now, saying it was a miracle that it had remained untouched in the devastation that had shook the city, and old Solomon seemed content to enjoy the company. A new café had opened up just across the street, and even that brought a stream of patrons into his fold. The crafty old-man would never give up enticing folks into his web of sparkly toys and games; as long as there was something to sell he would continue to sell it.

Yami felt pressure on his physical hand and glanced down. Yugi's grip had tightened. His light was pressing closer to him. He found himself once again feeling a faint prang of regret that his form of shadows could not sense anything beyond the pressure of the young man's physical weight against him. It was an awfully hollow feeling that he was left with. For all the effort it took to create a shape within the physical dimension, to endure being over stimulated and bombarded by sticky particles, there was a depressive element that he still could not offer the tactile comfort to his other-half that he emotionally desired he could. Yugi was still mortal, that would never change, and mortals would always crave touch. He could not care less, but he did care deeply for Yugi and his well-being.

_Aibou, what are you worried about? Jii-chan sounded fine over the phone._

_It isn't that. I just feel like we're starting another step. Daniel, his tablet, the American's having the Stargate…the Goa'uld being out there still…it just…it's like everything I was doing before has vanished and now I'm starting again, _Yugi replied.

_I know…we're trusting in others and its difficult. Let's just walk this road and see where it leads us. Right now, its taking us home and I think that is a good thing. Jii-chan always has something comforting to say. _

_Yes, he does. _Yugi smiled.

Yami breathed out in relief at the sight of the brilliant smile, so radiant in the street-lamp lights. They turned up the steps of the Game Shop, the light of the shop glowing down into the street. Daniel placed his suitecase down, staring up at the little apartment.

"So…this is where you grew up?" he queried to Yugi.

"Yep!" Yugi flashed the Puzzle. "And its where I put this together. Yami and I spent pretty much most of our free time in my room, contemplating life and everything in between."

Yami sensed the warm swell of Yugi's emotions radiating from the Puzzle. His light recalled those boring hours of wasting away homework and sorting through their deck very fondly. Yugi tapped his chest playfully. "You also began to form your physical body in my room too." Yugi tipped his head around, grinning at Daniel, "He was really shy at first, after the Truth-god Re gave him the ability."

"That epic battle you guys had, right?" Daniel glanced between them both. "To prove who was the real Pharaoh?"

"Only who can be the real Pharaoh when we're the same person." Yami shrugged. "Interesting situation we had going for a while. Yugi won, by the way, whipped my backside."

"I always do." Yugi slapped him smartly.

Daniel shook his head. "So you grandfather lives here?"

"And he runs the shop." Ryou ruffled around in his trench coat, finding a set of keys. He shoved them into the lock and with a heave swung the door open, peering into the well-lit interior.

"Jii-chan! We are home! Jii-chan." Ryou shouted.

"Ryou, my boy…come in, lock the door behind you," a distant voice called back.

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If Yami felt an overwhelming influx of memories returning to Domino, Yugi felt it tenfold. The very scent of the Game Shop as they all clambered into the front foyer was like a wall hitting him, filling him to the brim with the feelings and emotions that went with the memories of childhood and the warmth of the times he had spent with his friends crashed in this house.

This was the most vital place in his life. It was where it had all began.

They left their gear scattered around as they went searching for the allusive voice of Jii-chan. In the back room, standing high on a ladder, cradling a large box and balancing on one foot, Solomon Motou was poised.

He flashed a cheerful grin and threw the box.

"Catch Yami."

Quickly the Pharaoh darted forward in a swift flash of shadows, grabbing the box in mid-flight. Solomon clapped his hands in delight. He clasped the sides of the ladder and with expert grace, slid down to land neatly on the floor, dusting his overalls off and spreading dust into the air.

Yugi shook his head. The old man had not aged a day; it was both comforting and unnerving. Was this why Tea and Joey never wanted to see him anymore, because of the feeling it evoked in them, that horrible gut-wrenching sensation of seeing the supernatural, the unexplainable, it was nasty, it was not pleasant. Yes, he could understand Tea and Joey's distain for his never-aging presence, and how it would have felt to be faced with their own mortality for he was constantly faced with own immortality.

Yami set the box to one side and wrapped the old man in a tight hug, lifting him off the floor. A brass chuckle sounded from the old man as he was soundly put back on his feet. Solomon ruffled the Pharaoh's hair playfully.

"It is good to see you again."

Yami inclined his head royally. Yugi blinked back tears, feeling the warmth from his other-half's blackened soul, the cheer the spirit felt when in the presence of the closest thing they both had to a true father-figure. A man they could ring at any hour of the day or night when either of them needed council, without shame, but knowing that if they had been foolish, they would be reprimanded and dealt with, but still unconditionally loved.

Solomon brushed back his fuzzy gray locks and peaked around Yami, facing Yugi. He spread his arms in welcome. Yugi dived for the embrace, burrowing himself into the strong arms. Oh, he smelt just like he always had—of moth-balls, stale cardboard and deodorant that only just covered the distinct scent of his sweat.

"Jii-chan!"

"Yugi, my boy. I am so glad you are home." Solomon slapped his cheeks and Yugi winced at the strong, sturdy hands on his skin. "Come on! I ordered take-out, your favorite." He turned, giving Bakura a swift kick in the shin before wrapping Ryou in a bone-crushing hug. Ryou received the same cheek slapping and Yugi smirked at the Count's eye-roll as Solomon stepped back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Ryou, you've obviously not been eating."

"I'm fine, Jii-chan."

"You're thinner than Yugi."

"That would be inhumanly impossible. You just have not seen me in a while, that is all." Ryou flashed a smile. "I promise, I am in prefect health."

Solomon slowly raised a contemplative eyebrow; he twisted his glare in Bakura's direction. "He's lying to me isn't he?"

"Old Man, you are wise and all-knowing." Bakura bowed.

Solomon huffed, grabbing Ryou's arm and dragging him out of the small back room.

"Jii-chan! I am fine, honestly. You just have silver in your house, remember, I'm allergic to sliver," Ryou wailed.

Yugi smirked into his hand as the two vanished through the door. He glanced toward poor Daniel, looking to stunned and floored to even begin to splutter anything.

"Well, that's my grandfather Daniel." Yugi winked. "He's a flippant old fella, and loves to make sure Ryou and I are in the best of health whenever we drop by."

"Mostly Ryou, everyone knows I look after Yugi far too well for his health to ever be in danger."

"What a lie that is." Yugi snorted.

Yami brushed past, ignoring his comment entirely, "I'll put our bags in our room Aibou, you take Daniel up stairs and give him the tour and at least let Jii-chan realize there is another person present. Come, Bakura."

"I'm not your slave, Pharaoh."

Yugi rolled his eyes as the thief-king vanished, causing Daniel to stumble back a pace. He caught the archaeologist.

"Sorry, they do that a lot."

"Yeah," Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. "Though I would too if I could teleport everywhere."

Yugi tugged on his sleeve, showing him out of the back room and up the long stair-well. He glanced back with a smile as they crept up the shadowed corridor. "It's not really teleporting, its more transporting through dimensions. Yami and Bakura do not exist in the sense of physical existence, they are beings of the Dark Dimension, thus for them to appear here, in the Physical Dimension, they must create a physical form that can be not just visible but also tangible to us. When they vanish like that, they're returning to their normal existence, to shadows. Now, if was to shadow'port, I would have to remove what makes me physical, turn myself into what they are, shift through the Dark Dimension, and then remake myself on the other side. It takes a lot more effort."

"But you can do it?"

"If I have too. I prefer it when Yami does it for me. Little bit less effort. He kinda wraps me up in this bubble and rips me between spaces. It feels like I've been put through a blender though. Not the most pleasant of experiences, but if it's between being struck by a moving bus and that…I choose Yami dragging me out of the road of the bus. He seems to believe that if I did it more often I'd get better at it, but meh," Yugi shrugged, "whatever."

They broke into the light of the living-room and Yugi peered around, laughing at the realization that very little had changed. It seemed that Seto had not achieved in getting his grandfather to relent in handing over his old furniture for new, more modern ones, but at least the kitchen had been renovated. He would have to thank the convening business-man for that.

Pattering around within the kitchen Solomon was bustling, balancing plates and handing glasses to Ryou while at the same time lecturing him on his current state of physical health. It was the same lecture the poor young man received every time they visited, and Yugi doubted Solomon would ever relent in giving it to Ryou, not since he had found out just what Ryou truly was.

Yugi pointed to the nearest doorway.

"Toilet is through there and down the hall, our bedrooms are up the stairs. And this is pretty much the living space." He spread his arms. "Jii-chan's office is in that room over there." He motioned behind him. "It's got some interesting stuff in it from his old archeological days, which I am sure he'll show off to you if you ask him."

Daniel wandered toward the table, giving a sigh. "I cannot believe I am in Domino. One of my friends has wanted to come here. Apparently this place is the power-house of the twenty-first century."

"What an interesting thought." Yugi laughed, "I never would have looked at my old home city like that." He shuffled himself into a seat. Yami and Bakura entered through the door leading to the upper-level, Yami's smile broad.

"Its good to be home." He swept up to the kitchen counter, shadows trailing along behind him. "Can I help Jii-chan?"

Solomon passed a dish of dinner to him. "On the table, my boy, if you please."

"Yes sir." Yami spun around neatly, parading perfect balance. Yugi shook his head at the king, sensing his smugness.

"Show off," he sniped playfully.

Yami slid the large dish neatly down. "You know it." The king smirked.

Solomon shooed the spirit to one side, dusting with him the shadows that lingered around him like smoke. "Everyone sit, before it all goes cold. I know you must all be hungry and tired. Come along now…" He paused in his speech, coming right up beside Daniel and staring blankly up at the new face.

Yugi propped his chin up on the palm of his hand, smiling at the sight of his bewildered grandfather. He had wondered how long it was going to take for the old man to realize he was setting a place for another person, and bustling around one other random member he had never set eyes on before. They had forewarned him that Daniel was coming, but truthfully maybe his grandfather had fallen into the old habit from school days and imagined Daniel as Joey or maybe Honda.

Solomon stroked his beard, taking a step back. He raised an eyebrow as he tipped his head upward, giving Daniel a long, steady gaze.

"And who is this?"

Maybe he was contemplating poor Daniel's disheveled appearance, which Yugi had to admit, was even worse than his was at this current point in time—and that was saying something, considering he currently did not own anything other than the clothes on his own back.

"This is Doctor Daniel Jackson?" Yugi flapped out his hand.

Solomon's eyes brightened in enchantment, "Ah…the _Alien_ fellow!"

For a moment Daniel looked mortified, only to realize in whose company he was in, and what had transpired the last couple days. His shoulders relaxed and he gave a nod. "Yes, the Alien guy."

"Well, my boy." Solomon grasped his hand and jangled it up and down in a hearty shake, "You are most welcome in this house! In fact, the Shadows wouldn't have let you through the front door if you were not as crazy and mad as the rest of us! Come, come, sit down. Tell me all about yourself."

It was, Yugi theorized, why his grandfather's Game Shop did so well—Solomon had a natural way of making people feel as though they were center of the world, and at the same time comfortable and calm, allowing them to expose themselves to him. It was fascinating to watch over the course of the dinner the old man use the same tactics he had long ago used on Joey, Tea and Honda and later on Seto to make them feel at home in the warmth and friendly environment of the little upper-story level of the cozy Game Shop. By the time dinner had wrapped up, Daniel was laughing along with their tales of Duelist City's earlier days.

"It's not the same anymore," Solomon gathered up the plates, setting them on the kitchen bench before starting the kettle, "it has become quite commercialized, though Seto has tried hard to keep the spirit of it as pure as he could, the years and generations have morphed the game we once knew."

Yugi eased back in his chair. "As long as the kids still enjoy it, and aren't forced into having the save the world, or into any burning warehouses…"

"Do these places still stand? I would like to visit Kaiba Land, and the Arcade you all enjoyed hanging out at." Daniel leaned forward, "And what about the Museum? Is the exhibition of the Nameless Pharaoh still being displayed there?"

The room went quiet. Only the soft hiss of the kettle could be heard. Daniel stared around at their faces. Yugi chewed his bottom lip. He shifted in his chair. "We are planning on taking you to the Museum, it is one of the few places that survived."

"Survived?" Daniel frowned.

Solomon set a tray of drinks upon table, placing a hand upon Daniel's shoulder. His brow was drawn in a dark frown. "Indeed. It was a terrible day. I remember it as though it was yesterday. I will remember it for the rest of my life. An earthquake struck, it almost took this city off the map. It was nearly two years ago now."

Yugi rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze distant, "Returning here was worse than a war-zone, everything was just flattened. We heard about it while we were in Brazil looking for the Stargate, took me eight days to get a flight back here! I think I went insane for four of them." He sucked in a deep breath, "I thought Jii-chan was dead."

The old man shook his head. "The Shadows would never have let that happen, nor would Seto for that matter. He knows Yami would kill him."

"But I would never have been able to tell." Daniel frowned, "The city is…well…a city."

Ryou began filling his pipe. "That would be because of Seto Kaiba, the greatest man to ever walk this dear Earth, and I say that with the dearest affection for him, no matter how much of a prick he is. We spent a good six months after the disaster working with him. He was on-hand day and night…"

"He gave this city and the people left, something to believe in. He gave them hope and jobs, and food, and homes." Yugi sighed, easing onto his feet. "The man is a tyrant but he a very good one. He knows how to get a nation to do what he desires them to do. He is someone you want on your side after hell breaks loose. Looking at Domino now, you'd have no idea it was pancaked to nothing only two years ago." He leaned wearily upon the window, gazing out at the dancing lights of the night skyline. He creased his arms across his chest and tipped his head, turning back toward the others around the table.

Ryou lit his pipe, flicking out the small match and contently shuffling back into his seat. The exhaustion of travel must have been visible in all their faces, just as it was on Ryou's, creased into the bags under his eyes. Yugi rubbed at his shoulders, thinking of the warm bed upstairs, just waiting for him. Ryou was going to smell like tobacco, but then, did he really care, that was his friend's familiar scent after all and he loved the comforting familiarity it brought him. He felt so safe when he slept knowing he was near someone who would not leave him, and at least he could feel Ryou's touch on his skin, that kept him sane.

Daniel shook his head. "I just cannot believe it."

"It is amazing what you can achieve," Yami sipped his coffee, "with enough people willing to follow you."

"Ah Kaiba, ever the charming cobra." Bakura smirked darkly.

"Cobra indeed." Yami drank his coffee, his eyes glistened a dark red, "My cobra."

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Yugi eased his way carefully down the stairs. They still creaked under his weight after all these years, making him smile in recollection of the amount of times he had tried so hard to sneak out with Joey and Honda. Bother his grandfather for being such a light sleeper! He crept quickly down the passage into the living room and kitchen, thankful for the window blinds being open to shine the light of the city across the glistening tiles to guide his way in the darkness.

It was not that darkness was a problem, he could feel through darkness now as clearly as he could with daylight, but as a creature of light he loved the glow, beauty and shine that came with the radiant warmth. It was his domain, it broke the darkness and tamed it.

Finding a glass he filled it with water and gulped it down, sighing in satisfaction.

It stirred, the figure in the window. Yugi frowned.

"Daniel?" He shifted away from the kitchen sink and patted his way long the living room, finding the archeologist gazing forlornly across the city sky-line.

"Yugi…hey…"

"Can't sleep?" Yugi sat back on the arm of a chair, smiling in the dim light.

"Yeah, I don't know what time-zone my body is in but…it's in a weird one."

Yugi softly chortled, "Yeah, I've been there." He brushed back his hair.

"You wear the Puzzle at night? Oh well, I suppose you have too, you can't take it off." Daniel unfolded his arms. He gave his head a small shake.

Yugi plucked at the inverted pyramid thoughtfully. "It can come off, it's dangerous, but I've done it from time to time. It seems dependent on the bond Yami and I have, considering it is the mediator of our shatter soul. I've just become very good at manipulating it so it doesn't get in the road." He flashed a blazon grin. "But if it stays off too long, I go into cardiac arrest. Rather nasty. One of the ways I can die, actually."

"You just told me one of your weakness," Daniel said.

"I also told you how to save my life if ever it comes off and I'm unconscious."

"You like seeing people positively don't you?"

"I'm a glass-is-half-full kind of guy." Yugi shrugged.

"I like that." Daniel looked back to the night-life out the window, his gaze growing distant. The aura around him shifted, growing cold, indicating longing, mixed with a tint of well masked fear of the unknown future. Yugi extended his own emotions, using them as a buffer, to draw away the bitterness of Daniels, hoping they would counteract at least some of hidden fear, though he himself had just the same well-disguised trepidation.

"Tell me, Yugi, do you really believe that a way to defeat the Goa'uld is buried out there, long forgotten in the sands of distant planets," Daniel whispered.

Yugi breathed out. "Yes, Daniel," he stared upward to the night-sky, "yes I do. The Truth-gods wouldn't just make something like this up, I know Re, I have felt him before, his touch is like gold, it burns your blood…sure, he may just be another alien being, but he and his kind left behind foot-prints and those foot-prints were idolized by my people. Your tablet is proof that the Goa'uld knew about the Cities of Dawn and had their gate address wiped out. All we need to do is go hunting again. Your tablet will guide us and the Millennium Items will be our keys."

Daniel closed his eyes. He looked as though he was envisioning something, maybe a future, or an adventure, or perhaps the face of his wife again. Yugi reached forth a hand, touching the archaeologists arm and causing him to stir. Blue eyes searched for his and Yugi warmly smiled, feeling such a great sense of delight when Daniel mirrored the expression.

"Come on Daniel, let's get over our jet-lag." Yugi tugged his sleeve. "The wonders of the universe can wait another day."

Daniel chuckled, following him up the stairs. "I'm pretty sure you're right there."

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It had been awhile since he had woken up to the sound of tooting horns and the distant rumble of traffic. The first thing Yugi noticed was the headache. It was buzzing in the back of his skull like a static, telling him instantly that he was back in the world of the twenty-first century and he was going to need to reacquaint himself with the noise, pollution, smells and everything else that came with city life. His body was far too well attuned after years abroad, studying the arts of combat with Malik, and traversing deep jungles or endless deserts.

Staring at the ceiling of his old bedroom Yugi reached out a hand, gazing at the scarred palm. Well, the city was just another jungle, a jungle of concrete, metal and plastic.

His hand was interlinked with another and Yami came into his vision. The bare chested king bent over him, giving a warm smile of greeting, looking far too much like a radiant beam of sunshine.

"Good morning Aibou, I trust you slept well?"

"I think Ryou kicked me, though I don't know if it was because I was stealing the blanket." Yugi yawned, easing himself upright. He peered around the room. Other than Yami sitting smugly beside him, he was the only live occupant of the room. Ryou's bag was neatly placed to one side, while his own was overflowing with the things he called his clothing. Yugi scrubbed his hair.

"Job number one for today, shopping." He slid out of the bed, heading for Ryou's suitcase. "Did Ryou and Bakura already head out?"

"Yep." Yami flopped back on the bed, rolling around. "Ryou wanted to see the Agricultural Ring construction, and the Duelist Academy."

Pulling out a shirt Yugi held it to his chest, sizing it up. He turned, showing it to the Pharaoh.

"It'll do," Yami offered.

Yanking it over his head Yugi moved to his own case, digging around for pants, pulling out the closet pair of jeans. He stared at them. They were white.

"These are Ryou's as well, do I own anything?" He peered over his shoulder.

"Ah…" Yami frowned in thought. "Your earrings…and I did buy you your choker. Oh, and your _shoes_."

"Right…well…now that we're back in civilization I think I should own more."

"Maybe a house." Yami sat up, snapping his fingers. Shadows folded over his frame, clothing him instantly. Yugi glared at him as he strolled around the bed, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

"We could buy a house, think about the possibilities Aibou."

Yugi brushed past the king, "Never going happen, handsome. When are you and I ever going to settle down long enough to bother having a house?" He shoved open the door.

"It could happen, Yugi." Yami trailed after him.

Yugi laughed. "I anything is possible I suppose."

They thumped down the stairs, though Yami more floated, if Yugi was to be honest with himself. The Pharaoh always only ever really floated whenever they returned to the Game Shop, or where together in private. It was as if being back in the place they had first developed their bond brought back the spirit aspect of their relationship.

Daniel was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a coffee as he flipped through what looked like a large photo-album. Yugi paused, spun around and darted back to the table—it was a photo-album, his old photo-album to be precise.

"Wow, who dug this out of the closet?" Yugi whistled.

Daniel stirred, "Oh, good morning."

"Morning." Yugi waved, shifting back to the kitchen and fetching a bowel to pour out cereal.

"Ah, your Grandpa just threw this at me. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." Bearing his plate over Yugi slid down beside Daniel. "I haven't looked at that old thing since I left high-school."

He pulled out his glasses, slipping them on his nose as he stared at the pictures and gave a whistle. "I look so young, didn't think that was possible!"

"I'm guessing these were your friends."

"Yup." Yugi scooped food into his mouth, "Good years we had together too. Duel Monsters brought us together, then our adventures even more so."

"I can imagine."

"We all had a secret to carry…the legend of the Nameless Pharaoh." Yugi chuckled. "I guess it made us all feel rather special."

He flipped a page, "Here, this is Honda, and this girl here Tea, we dated for about four months in our last year of school." Yugi pointed to another photo of a young woman, her arms tightly wrapped around him. "Then she got pregnant."

"By you?"

"Me? Heck no." Yugi broke into a laugh. He wiped aside tears of merriment. "She was doing it with Joey behind my back, this guy," he pointed to a tall blond. "The one writing the novels about us. Can't say I was all that surprised when they came out, considering my, ah, sixth sense of emotions. Besides that, Tea's pretty convinced I'm batting for the other team, so to speak."

Yami's laughter echoed from the living room. "You've never proven her otherwise, Aibou."

"I never intend to." Yugi shouted back. "Her face is far too priceless whenever Joey insists you haven't stolen my virginity yet."

Yami appeared around the corner of the archway, bearing his mug for a refill. He set it upon the table, taking a glance at the photo album and smiling warmly as he wrapped an arm around Yugi's shoulder. "I thought I stole it a long time ago." He poked Yugi's nose.

"Your dirty habits from the past don't count. The fact that you actually married two of your sisters still creeps me out."

"Incest was considered a normal practice; I imagine keeping the blood-line pure was important, more so now that I know your blood was linked to this alien-shadow stuff." Daniel offered off-handily before pausing, realizing suddenly just what the conversation was entailing. He glanced slowly up from flipping through the album, staring at the pair in question.

"Holy…Hannah, you're…not joking…whoa, wait, you remember what he remembers?"

Yugi leant against Yami, giving a small shrug, "Bits and pieces. We try to keep a wall up between the past and present so that the two don't merge."

"So that we can keep our individual identities as unique as possible." Yami offered. "But many of the memories are powerful enough to slip through the barrier and Yugi will often experience them."

"To be honest," Yugi slipped free of the king's embrace, taking up his mug and wandering to the kitchen counter to start the kettle, "the experience brought me closer to who was I was and who I am but I won't lie," he peered over his glasses, "its trippy, remembering two life-times that you sometimes cannot tell the difference between."

"Tea believed our bond was due to superficial, worldly affection…" Yami leaned upon a chair, shaking his head, "she could not grasp the idea that we once existed as one being but are forced to live as two entities. This existence to us is a form of torture. Our split soul is constantly trying to rejoin but it never can."

Daniel stared down at the photograph on the last page of the album.

It was not hard to see what the archaeologist was internally processing about the image; it was as plain as daylight. There they were all where, smiling happily as though the world was theirs to own, young people free and proud, unaware of their futures and ready to face whatever came. Even now, faced with the sight of how gleeful they all looked, Yugi still felt the prang of desire to go back—how he wished he could have told his younger self to stop and treasure such fleeting moments of joy more for they passed like bare flutters of a birds wings. Seasons changed, the world spun ever onward, and people moved on. He, an immortal being, knew more than anyone it seemed, that nothing ever stayed the same—nothing.

"So, what happened after you all graduated?"

Yugi trotted back to the kitchen bench and carried over the small tray of drinks. "Well, Tea had twins…she and Joey got married and moved to America. She's a high-tooting actress now. Honda is still here in Domino, he works for Seto as a personal body-guard for Seto's girlfriend, who is actually Joey's sister. Malik moved back to Egypt to be with his family. Ryou's old man committed suicide pretty soon after school was out so I opted to fly over with him to deal with the fall-out of that and then together we started going about hunting down whatever we could about your Stargate, it took us on a very merry adventure. I came home every once in a while to see Jii-chan but to be honest, my first major trip back was due to the earthquake that took out Domino."

"I still can't believe it took a disaster to bring you home."

It was odd that he had never seen it in such a manner—there had been no leaving Domino, no sense of absence, no missing of the city, he had always felt in the back of his mind that he could always trust that it would be there whenever he desired it to be so. After all, his goal of hunting out the ancient technologies of the Old Earth had been in part to make Domino into the greatest city on Earth so it had never been far from his mind.

He had pride in his city, and he did not mind that, he liked that pride—that Seto had built it to become a power-house to be reckoned with due to the ancient technologies he and Yami had uncovered because no one else believed that humanity had been smart enough centuries ago to even invent space travel made him feel fulfilled. Domino was home, but it was home because it was were humanity was going to change, and he knew that only because he could feel it. Be it in a years' time or in a century, it would someday happen in Domino.

Yugi shrugged. "One city isn't big enough for Seto and Yami to inhabit." He ribbed the Pharaoh playfully with an elbow, "And besides, Jii-chan can look after himself."

Daniel frowned. Momentarily there was a flare of grief and bitter shame internally swelling around inside him but he tucked it away quickly, repressing it much like a child would throw a blanket over a wet bed. Yugi tucked away the emotions, filing them aside for future reference. Maybe Daniel had unfinished business with his own grandfather, and if so, that was a very interesting reaction to have come about from just one mention of a grandfather looking after himself.

Yugi lifted an eyebrow, sliding a mug toward Daniel.

"Come on, Daniel…I'm not that evil. You saw my grandfather, does he look anywhere near death's doors to you? Does he look like an old man? Sure, he's gray and a bit wrinkled but when we walked into the Game Shop yesterday…what was he doing?"

"He was up a ladder juggling boxes."

Yugi flashed a grin. "I rest my case."

"But he has to be at least in his late eighties." Daniel whispered. "And he still runs a shop full-time."

"He does." Yugi chuckled, "But you'd be surprised what being around a Millennium Item can do for one's health. He had his soul stolen from his body many years ago…ever since then…" he sighed, "his health problems started decreasing."

Yugi took up his mug. He gave Yami's chest a pat. "I'm going to find Jii-chan. I'll catch up with you guys in the city later, around lunch time?"

"You sure you don't want me to come with you?" Yami glanced through his loose bangs.

Yugi shook his head. "I'll be fine. You take Daniel to the Museum. Catch you later." He gave a backhanded wave as he headed down the stairs into the Game Shop.

It was not open yet, though there were tell-tale signs of his grandfather starting the routine for the morning opening. He checked his watch, this time of the day, the old man would for sure be down in the store-room looking for new release stock to put out in the windows. It was strange to imagine that in so many long years his grandfather had not broken tradition.

Sipping his coffee Yugi carefully made his way down the few steps into the second storeroom, recalling the time he had fallen down into it and broken his arm. He had been seven, and he could remember lying on the cold floor, staring up at the boxes of games, at the blurry light swinging back and forth on the ceiling and feeling the pain in his arm but it was the sound of his grandfather running from the shop front and calling his name that still made his heart flutter.

That voice, pitched in a frantic, horrified sound he had only heard a few times in his life and never was it a good sign to hear Solomon Motou use the tone. He knew he was loved when he heard his grandfather use that voice, stuck somewhere between horror and fear. How strange to know love when someone was scared of losing the only thing they hold dear.

"Jii-chan?" Yugi peered between the stacked boxes, blinking in the dim light.

He heard a muffle and watched as Solomon's backside shuffled out from between a stack and he appeared, red beanie and overalls covered in a layer of dust. He sneezed.

"Yugi! I thought you would have gone by now."

"Yami and Daniel have, but I wanted to talk before you opened the shop." Yugi gulped his coffee. It was growing lukewarm.

Solomon dusted off his hands. He gave a smile. "Just like old times heh."

True enough statement, they had always ended up talking in the back store-room. Somehow it had become their place of refuge. Solomon had always found him curled up tightly under the boxes whenever he had been bullied, and even after he had befriended Joey and Honda, he had always found a reason to curl up and mope in the corner until discovered by the old man.

"Yeah," Yugi smiled, "just like old times."

"Come on then," Solomon waved him over, "speak your mind, my boy!"

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"Jii-chan…" Yugi slid down beside Solomon, pressing up against the back wall. "Yami and I think your soul went through a transformation when Pegasus stole it, we think it was infected with Shadows."

Solomon wiped sweat from his forehead with his bandanna, giving a long sigh. He gave his grandson a weary look, studying the young man beside him. What a beautiful little boy he had raised. Even in the dull light of the cellar it was easy to see the outlines of his features, those subtle things like the dimples of his lopsided smile, or the way his ears poked out from behind his hair. These were what made his little boy so striking.

He reached out and clasped a bony knee. "I know."

Yugi frowned. It disjointed his face. Solomon chuckled at the expression. It always made Yugi look much younger than he was, linking his eyebrows together across his brow. It was never a good look on the boy, that funny scowl.

"Yugi my boy, you don't think I haven't been around you and Yami long enough that I wouldn't know weird when I feel it?"

"I suppose." Yugi was not looking directly at him, and that was a worrying sign.

Solomon stroked his beard. From years of raising the boy he had become adept at reading the body language that others would have easily dismissed. Yugi had always been more of the odder, withdrawn, quiet type, even after he had met Joey and Honda, and Yami had entered his life, that part of Yugi that was the oddball, game-loving geek never truly vanished, it just crept into hiding and every now and then it slid itself out.

When it did once more appear, Solomon almost felt as though that precious part of Yugi, the real Yugi that few people really saw, was coming out. This was the Yugi that only the closest of family saw.

"I'm sorry Jii-chan, but I can't think of any other way to do this than to just…come out and blankly state it. This is the Elixir from the Pool of Eternal Life." Yugi slid a small vial across a crate.

Solomon stared at it blankly. The water had a faint shine to it, which must have been created by a glittery mineral within, but otherwise it looked natural, just bobbing there inside a slender little bottle tied to a string.

Yugi leant back and propped his head upon a crate, he gave a long, wheezing sigh. "Yami believes that the Shadows infecting your soul will eventually tear apart your mortal vessel and you'll become a wraith, rather like him and Bakura, or rather, more like a Duel Monster."

"Hmmm, that's a bit of a twist. I think I could live with being a Duel Monster." Solomon chortled.

"When he told me I went looking for a solution." Yugi glanced aside, obviously not finding it amusing.

Solomon could only imagine the boy was not wishing him to see the pain in his eyes. He shook his head. What a terrible thing his Dark had told him. When they had both fought so hard to get him back his soul from Pegasus and it had been for naught in the end.

"So you found the legendary Pool of Eternal Life," Solomon sighed, "Yugi Motou…sometimes I wonder if there is nothing you cannot achieve." He wiped aside free flowing tears.

Yugi's shoulder's sagged. "I had to. Jii-chan…I was not going to let your soul get torn apart. Not because of what Pegasus did. There was no choice. The Pool was the only thing Ryou and I could find that might have had a chance at counteracting the effects of the Dark Dimension on a Human Soul."

"How did you find it?"

"I can't tell you, I am forbidden under pain of death."

Solomon pushed back against the wall, staring at Yugi blankly. The young light was fidgeting, the memories being provoked by the conversations must have been harsh, he could almost read them across his grandson's features.

"Yugi, you're immortal," he stated.

"Trust me, I can die. Painfully," Yugi wheezed.

Solomon sucked in a deep breath. He glanced toward the small vial of liquid and slowly reached for it. It was cold between his stubby figures but the surface was not wet. What had his grandson been through to receive this for him? Looking at the light's face, he could see so clearly that whatever had transpired had not been pleasant. His chest swelled with pride and warmth at the love and devotion of the boy he had raised. He stood with a groan and reached out a hand to Yugi.

Confused Yugi took the hand and Solomon hoisted him up.

"You are the most wonderful grandson a man could wish for. You have been more my son than my son ever was." Solomon hugged him tight. Yugi's slender arms slinked around him. "I am proud of you, _both_ of you."

"Thanks Jii-chan."

Solomon pulled away, staring at the vial. "So explain to me what this does?"

Yugi breathed out slowly, trying to regain some composure. "Well…that's what I was afraid of and what you might not be too pleased about. It's your choice in the end, Jii-chan."

"You're avoiding my question, Yugi."

The boy puffed out his cheeks. "Once ingested it consumes you gradually, slowly altering your place in the universe just slightly, enough to place your out of sync with the rest of reality. You'll exist until the universe itself decays around you."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad." Solomon raised an eyebrow.

Yugi groaned. "Jii-chan, you don't get it. Immortality isn't the Holy Grail; it isn't what the ancients of old desired it to be. It's a burden—a lonely one. I don't want you to end up alone because I am being selfish. While I'm off saving the universe you'll just…be alone."

Solomon snorted. "Yugi, my boy, you are the least selfish man on this planet."

"No," Yugi laughed softly, "I am the most selfish of them all." He tipped his head back, his smile was a sad one, and he wore it as though it were makeup of mourning. "I desire to save everyone, it is very selfish ambition."

"I do not think you are seeing my point of view in all this, it is my soul you are trying to save here. I'm the one who will suffer for eternity if I don't take this Elixir." Solomon poked him in the stomach, making him squirm.

"So it really has very little to do with you. It's about me wanting to save myself! And my eternity, I'm the one who faces a choice. An eternity as a wraith…or one where I watch over my grandson forever, really, Yugi Motou, what do you think an old man like me would choose?" He lifted his eyebrows, honing his point.

Yugi's lips narrowed. "I see your perspective there."

"What I would like to know…is will I be stuck in this old thing?" He tapped his knees.

His grandson chuckled at the indication of the bungled knee caps. Yugi strung a hand through his hair, giving his head a small shake. "I can't make any promises, Jii-chan, but from what I do know…if you get good at it, you can appear at whatever age you imagine yourself to be...because you're outside of reality."

He tapped his own chest, "The Millennium Puzzle works in around the same manner but I haven't been able to project a strong enough psyche shield yet to create the illusion of the aging process, I'm just stuck at this age until I can figure it out, but considering you're a lot older and wiser than I am you might. When you do, teach me! I need to start looking older, I am so sick of looking like a kid when I'm so much older."

Solomon snorted, "You think I gave you your psyche powers?"

"Well who else did I inherit them from?" Yugi's head out his hands.

"Your mother," Solomon said.

Yugi sighed. "Jii-chan, stop playing stupid. For you to have even seen Yami's spirit you had to have some kind of latent link to the Dark Dimension before Pegasus stole your soul."

"There is never any hiding anything from you is there."

"I'm a Games Master, whatever." Yugi flapped a hand in the air.

Solomon breathed out, staring at the liquid in the small vial. It really did not look like much at all, and yet his grandson had found something that so many before him had searched for. He could be no prouder. A thought accured, he shifted, knowing it was likely the young man had caught the change in his emotions.

He glanced across at the boy, "How much of this did you take from the Pool?"

Sure enough, from the look in Yugi's sad eyes he had sensed his emotional shift and new just what his thoughts were from that simple twisting of feelings.

"If you're asking if I took enough to give to all my friends…no, I did not." Yugi leaned against the wall. "Oh, I was tempted but that is part of the point of the Pool, it tests those who find it and I was found worthy to know its location. I can't say I'm happy being lumped with immortality and the very idea that I will be forced to watch those I care for die around me makes me sick…but this…this is the curse of the Shadows."

He wanted to reach out, to comfort his little boy and let him know he would not be alone forever. That someday he would have a family around him that would last just as long as he would. But this was what he could do to show him, far more strongly than any hug, than any touch—he could accept the same curse.

Solomon nodded. "As you have said, my boy. It is a curse. This family has been cursed for a long time. I have known this for my entire life…" He unscrewed the lid of the vial and with a swift gulp drowned the contents. Yugi caught the slender bottle as it was slung back at him. Solomon slid his arm around the young man's shoulder and cradled him tightly.

"And I have promised to always bear the curse with you."

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Duel Monsters. It was an utter treat to see kids playing it in the mammoth court yard back-dropped by the colossal Domino Museum. The fountain, a monument to those lost in the earthquake that had broken the city's heart and soul but not its spirit, sprouted a melody to his ears. Yugi lazily mingled past the energetic youths locked in combat, recalling younger days.

The game had grown-up since his time—heavens he sounded old, and it had barely been ten years—it had become more than just a game, it was a way of life. Seto's many schools across different nations were not just schools, they were training facilities for children who would become the next generation of space-cadets in what they, the Pharaoh's Court, hoped would be the defense of Earth. Someone who played Duel Monsters, and played it well, already displayed the capabilities needed—and often those who had the deepest link with their Monsters ended up being latent Shadow-Welders.

There was something warm about being back in the city of games, seeing kids who mirrored him in so many ways, play like heroes, or scumbags, or maybe a bit of both. The thought amused him. Lazily drifting down the path, hands deep in the pocket of his coat, he barely caught the sound of heavy foot-fall over the yell and roar of a nearby girl and her duel-monster on a playing field.

That was until the boy collided with him.

All he saw was a blur of a red coat, some rather scruffy brown hair and a flounder of duel cards going in all directions as the poor kid yelped in surprise.

He balanced himself with a step back, though once upon a time the mere force of someone slamming into him would have sent him reeling onto the ground in a mess of arms and legs. These days he knew how to counteract the unfortunate occurrence due to how often people seemed to think he was invisible.

The kid was not so lucky. He landed flat on his backside, duel cards scattering across the pavement. Yugi raised an eyebrow at the sight of him scrambling around to gather his beloved deck back into one piece again.

"Hurrying somewhere?" He propped a hand on his hip.

"Sorry, sorry," the kid spluttered, still not looking upward at him. How rude.

"It's the trials for the—"

"Duelist Academy, yeah, I know. I keep track." Yugi smiled at the sorry sight the kid made.

Tea and Joey's twin boys would have been trying out at the American Academy this week, in the hope to transfer to Domino and stay with either their dearly beloved 'Uncle Seto' or Jii-chan, without a doubt, it would end up being Jii-chan. This brown haired kid looked about their age, maybe this was not a coincidence. He tapped his foot thoughtfully for a moment.

Unclipping the pouch of his deck Yugi pulled out the top card, holding it under the nose of the kid. "Here, Jaden, you're going to need this." He ruffled the mop of hair and swiveled on his heels, giving a backhanded wave. "Hope you pass kiddo."

Whatever stunned expression the boy was wearing he did not look back to notice it. Striking up a whistle Yugi wound his way up the remainder of the way to the colossal Museum. It had become a hangout zone for duelists, he was not really sure why, as he had not been back to Domino in such a long time, but from Seto's letters he knew the young people enjoyed congregating in the peaceful environment, and that they respected its holy grounds for some reason. Indeed, the young people of Domino were bright, up standing youths—honestly, you had to be, to get into most of the schools within all of the city's districts. Even those in which Seto's government subsidized for disadvantaged children were considered to be highly functional and well respected places of education.

"One of these days the rest of the world is going to wake up and realize he's building his own utopia and plans on blasting off into space to rule it." Yugi chuckled, "And he'll do it too, and everyone here will be happy to follow him. Damn cobra."

That was just how Seto worked, like a snake, weaving his way into the hearts of everyone with his handsome smile, his perfect business manner, and no one really knew just who he actually was behind that fake mask. Yugi was positive the only two people on the Earth who saw the real Seto Kaiba whole were Mokuba and Serenity. He himself had glimpsed the real Seto in hand written letters that they shared, but that was as close as he had ever come.

Skipping through the large glass doors Yugi paused at the threshold of the old building. The pillars surrounding the entrance carved in the manner of the Romans. The foyer was brightly lit by a ceiling of stained glass; the colors cascading patterns over the glossed floor in which children hilariously enjoyed dashing through, squealing in delight at the different displays. An enormous skeleton of a whale was strung up in the dome, floating above like some kind of beautiful and yet sorrowful reminder of death and lonesome depravity. Yugi waved to the curator, passing by and heading directly for the well-established café protruding out into a small courtyard. It was built like some kind of ancient Egyptian establishment, obviously due to the particular tastes of the owner of the Museum. Yugi chuckled at the thought of Ishizu and her iron fist over her beloved place of affairs. Without a doubt she would know they had arrived in Domino, but she would only appear to them if she felt it prudent to do so. She was one lady who did entirely as she pleased—much to Mailk's delight and horror, depending on the situation.

Sitting around a table he spotted the gathered gang. Not surprisingly they had ordered lunch. He touched his own stomach, food was very much needed and by the looks of it, Yami had already anticipated his need. Sitting upon the table beside the Pharaoh were a few slices of pizza, waiting for him. Yugi slapped his hands together in delight, alerting them to his presence.

Daniel twisted around, smiling in welcome.

"You made it."

"I always make it." Yugi winked. He placed a hand upon Yami's shoulder, "Thanks for saving me some."

"You're welcome, Aibou."

Yami pulled out the chair beside him, giving it a pat. "We just finished giving Daniel the tour."

Yugi took up a piece of pizza, glancing over at Daniel. The archaeologist looked about to burst with utter delight.

"Beautiful place, I just love the atmosphere. Something about it…just…doesn't feel dead. It feels alive, I don't know, like living history. This place feels like its breathing."

"I'm glad you like it here." Yugi smiled, "It's an important place to us I guess. You haven't seen the best part yet though, so don't get too excited." He smirked as Daniel's expression shifted to astonishment.

"There is more?"

Bakura set his cappuccino down, "We didn't bring you all the way down here to stare at things in glass cabinets. Anyway, to another pressing issue…" Bakura peered through his bangs at Yugi, though it was Ryou who finish the sentence straight from his mouth, almost simitanliously in a rather unsettling manner.

"…did Jii-chan take it?"

Yugi nodded, "He did."

He watched as his fellow light released the tight breath he had been holding. He wondered just how long he had been actually holding it. Bakura reached out, touching Ryou's shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

"Oh…what a relief." Ryou collapsed back into his chair. "I can tick that one off my list of worries."

"You have a list?" Yugi wiped his greasy fingers on a napkin.

"And you don't?" Ryou cracked a grin. "Did you see the kids dueling out the front?"

Yugi leant forward, "Fantastic isn't it. Felt like Duelist City was back on." He peered through his bangs out the large window surrounding the café, toward the courtyard beyond into the gardens were the display of monster vs. monster was still being warred. He rested his chin on a hand, smiling wistfully as he touched the Puzzle. Yami's soul was humming contently, the Pharaoh enjoying the restful atmosphere around them. It felt nice, to have the king so at peace, to feel his hand tracing patterns over his back idly even though it was only an illusion of touch.

"We should go out and throw them a game," Ryou stretched lazily, "show Daniel what he missed out on in his youth." The Count winked playfully.

"I would really like that actually, would be a very interesting experience. I could have watched those kids for hours."

"It's addictive to watch." Bakura wrapped an arm around Ryou's shoulder, "But that is actually the point, makes money."

"I do love that part about it, considering the amount of shares I have in the business." Ryou smirked. "Remind me to have that chat with Seto while we are here," the light paused, giving Bakura's chest a pat, "need to kick his backside about that decision he made without calling me."

"Whooo, he's in for a whipping," Yugi chimed, "not calling his secret business partner."

"You do know how I love using a whip." Ryou held out his hand, Yugi reached across the table and high-fived it.

A shout bellowed through the foyer, into the cafe, "Oie! Tut! Don't you go running off you little imp!"

"Sounds like Malik made it." Yami tipped his head around and Yugi followed the action, catching sight of the tall Tomb Keeper strolling up the stairs into their little hideaway. It was momentarily alarming to see him dressed back in normal, twenty-first century clothing. Despite it being in as much disarray as he could manage without looking like a bum, and wearing a beautiful piece of jewelry that stated his high status in the Tomb Keeper society—which no doubt Daniel would have already noticed, and figured out to be the Necklace—Malik still looked like he owned the universe with his sheer charisma. The black regrowth of his dyed hair was visible in the tussles of his mane, trailing down his back in a lazy pony tail and he really had not shaved for a few days.

His jacket was one that looked brought from a thrift-shop, but it did little to hide the warrior appearance of the tall, proud leader.

"I wanna go see mah sarcophagus!" The boy beside Malik shouted loudly, waving arms around in the air.

"Your sarcophagus is on display in Egypt." Malik calmed the boy with a gentle touch to the head.

"Nooooo, Dad! My other one, the REAL ONE! I want to lie in it and feel funny again! Can I please, please, please, please, please—"

"No. Look, I see Duel Monsters over there. Wow. Oh my gosh, is that a—"

"Where! Where!" Tutankhamen rushed off between the tables. Malik flipped up his hands in mock despair as he approached the table.

"Wow, Malik…amazing parenting skills," Yugi chirped, "I am in awe of your distraction techniques."

"Dr. Phil, man, I learn from the best." Malik gave two thumbs up, throwing a mock grin in for style. "He's wearing that dragon jumper you got him."

"I noticed, it looks adorable."

"He loves the thing." Malik ruffled Yugi's hair, "Sorry I'm late. We got side-tracked on the way over, there was a tunnel collapse, we needed to go around it, took us a bit longer."

"Not a problem." Bakura rose to his feet, rounding the table, "Marik, it's good to see you mate."

Few people would have noticed the instantaneous change that accrued as the shift between host and parasite transpired, but having seen it happen to himself in a mirror and to Ryou with Bakura, Yugi caught the twitch in Malik's shoulders, the tilt in his hips and the slight tenor warble in his voice that all indicated that it was no longer the Human mind that was in control; it was now Marik, the Tok'ra.

"Grandpa Bakura, it's been awhile. How's the old fella holding up?"

"Oh…he's been his snobby self."

"The _old fella_ is sitting right here thank you very much!" Ryou snapped. "You are a prick Marik."

"Lovely to see you too, _Methuselah_."

Ryou rolled his eyes.

"Skin still stinging from my mark?" Marik's eyebrows lifted high. "I really _enjoyed_ tattooing you."

Ryou held up his middle-finger.

"Wow, Bakura, what did you do to your host? He's being rude."

"I don't know. He acts this way around you. It's very weird. I think you damaged him."

"Who in this group didn't I damage?"

"True enough point." Bakura held out a hand and Mairk seized it, the two embraced in a tight brotherly hug.

As Mairk pulled away from Bakura, a warm, brilliant smile igniting over his features, revealing Malik had returned. Bakura buffed him playfully over the shoulder. Ryou stood from his seat instantly and hugged the Egyptian, his tenor towards him changing like a switch. "Malik, it's been far too long."

"Likewise Ryou, how have you been?"

"Getting by, I suppose." Ryou brushed back his hair.

Yugi could the confusion of Daniel's face. He was trying so hard to figure out why both Bakura and Ryou had been, only moments ago, referring to Malik in an entirely different name. It took a moment for Daniel to dust the thought aside before he took the offered hand to the newcomer as he turned toward them in greeting.

"And you must be Doctor Daniel Jackson. I'm Malik Ishtar, I have the unfortunate pleasure of being a good friend of this awful lot of riff-raff."

Daniel visually winced as his hand was seized and shaken. Yugi chuckled inwardly, knowing just how hard Malik could grasp a hand. The man had a powerful vice clasp.

"You're Egyptian."

_Way to state the obvious Daniel_, Yugi mused. The poor overwhelmed archeologist.

"Yep. I'm related to him and to him." Malik pointed to Yami and Bakura. "Very distantly though, if you get my drift. I'm the far more handsome, taller, more dashing son Yami always wanted."

"The very fact that you come from my sister's womb is the only thing that saves your life, Malik," Yami acidly hissed.

"Oh come on, show Grandpa Bakura some love."

Yami folded his arms across his chest. "Do you know _how_ he took my sister?"

"Nope, but from your obvious distain for it, I'm guessing it involved stealing her."

Bakura flashed a grin. "Hey, hey, she asked me too. You were being a jackal, refusing to let us wed."

"I don't let Princesses of Egypt marry thieves."

"Well excuse me, I gave Egypt its next Pharaoh." Bakura clapped him over the head. "I kept your Dynasty going after we kicked the bucket."

"You still _stole_ my sister."

"Well, if you weren't so pathetic at making babies then maybe I wouldn't have had to do it for you."

"Excuse me." Ryou countered sharply, "Enough."

"DAAAAADDDDD," everyone cringed at the loud ringing shout.

"What?" Malik swiveled on his heels as Tutankhamen ran toward him, leaping up and latching onto his middle to dangle. "Can I have an ice-cream? They're selling Duel Monster Cards with them and…and…and…and…I need THAT ONE FOR MY DECK!"

"Tutankhamen, how many times have I told you to use your inside voice when inside." Malik untangled the boy's arms from around his waist. "And you haven't said hello to your uncles yet. Maybe if you ask Uncle Bakura for an ice-cream he'll get you one."

Bakura solemnly stared as the boy's eyes turned suddenly to him. "Hi Uncle Bakura, Hi Uncle Ryou! Can I have an ice-cream? PLEASE!"

Ryou chuckled at the giant white eyes. "And how many kids did you want again?" He dug into the pocket of his jeans, pulling free his wallet and handing it to Bakura.

"At least eight," Bakura leered.

"Good luck with that." Ryou slapped the back of the dark's head, "Enjoy finding a woman who wants that many kids and two husbands."

"Hey, technically I don't exist; you're the one who's alive, honey." Bakura scooped Tutankhamen into his arms. The boy-king squealed in delight as he was thrown high into the air and caught again, only to have the trick repeated.

Malik shook his head in mirth at the sight, "Spoilt little tiger. Ah well, he doesn't get out of the Tombs enough. At least I know he can dress in modern day clothing."

"True, last time I saw him he was butt-naked." Yugi jested, "Makes it easy to slap his backside."

"The kids have a game, its called Donkey-tails. You put a piece of fabric between your butt-cheeks and try to snatch it out."

Yami suddenly laughed. "Oh, they still play that? Gods, that's hilarious."

"You played that?" Yugi glanced at the king.

"All the time when I was a boy, with the harem children," Yami leaned back on the table, smiling fondly. "Didn't matter if I was a prince, the only thing that made me any different from the slave kids was my royal tattoo."

"I'm pretty sure that's what Tutankhamen feels when he plays Donkey-tails. If he's with me during council meetings or just every day, he has to wear the royal kilt. Makes him feel like he's back being king, and I really think he doesn't like that."

"Father's vibe?" Ryou smiled.

Malik shrugged. "Something like that."

"Wait, your son's name is actually _Tutankhamen_?" Daniel stirred from his daze of trying to follow the conversation.

Malik pursed his lips for a moment and Yugi sensed a slight nudge on the wall of his mind. He opened his mental barriers, allowing the thought-shapes to form and the conversation to flow quickly.

_Should I tell him?_

_Well, he'll find out one way or another._

_Should I tell him about Marik too?_

_No. _Yugi forced himself not to flinch at Yami's sharp, almost dangerously dagger-like thought jutting into their mental conversation. _I do not think he's is aware of your presence Marik, or what you are…if he was to find out about you he would presume you are a Goa'uld. He has no idea that you're any different from your brothers._

It had always been hard to tell the difference between Malik and Marik's thought-shapes. It had taken Yugi years to learn the subtle wobble of the taint of Shadows that outlined Marik's very presence within Malik and now he could even taste the after-burn of Marik's thought in his mind. He wondered sometimes if the presence of a Goa'uld would feel the same if he ever had the chance to feel the mind of one, after all, Marik was technically of the same alien race, just an entirely different faction.

_I agree with his majesty, my host, it would not go down well. _Marik whispered, his tone soft, almost comforting. Yugi supposed it was a voice a wise old being, which Marik had been, long ago, before his banishment, before he had gone insane—before the Shadows had consumed him.

_Alright then, let's test his waters with Tut and see how he takes that. _Malik agreed.

Their entire mental conversation had taken little more than a few brief moments of passing in which Ryou had filled up with a recount of how his grandfather had been involved in the uncovering of Tutankhamen's Tomb.

Malik shook his head.

"I didn't name him _after_ Pharaoh Tutankhamen, Doctor Jackson." Malik looked fondly toward the boy scooting around Bakura's legs, ice-cream in hand. "That _is _the legendary Pharaoh Tutankhamen."

Daniel took a slow, deep breath. "Okay. Considering they're both ancient spirit-shadows," he motioned to Yami and Bakura, "that's not that far of a stretch anymore."

Malik narrowed his lips thoughtfully, "Fair enough point. Guess I never thought too hoots about it."

"But isn't the real Pharaoh Tutankhamen older—"

Malik blew a rasp, "Fabricated, we swapped the mummies decades ago." He flapped a hand in the air, "It's what we do, preserving the Tombs and all that rot. You have no idea the real stuff we've got hidden under the Cairo Museum."

He flashed a blazon grin. Yugi had to agree, Daniel really had no idea what the Tomb Keepers kept hidden away there. Not even he had under covered everything just stuffed in the catacombs.

"Is he like you?" Daniel looked to Yami. "All…ghosty?"

The Pharaoh shook his head. "No, though he is like me when I was alive." Yami flashed a proud grin. "He's a strong Shadow Welder, it is one of the reasons why we resurrected him. He's one of the few pure-bloods, like myself."

"What do you mean by…pure-bloods?"

"As far as we can tell," Malik rubbed the back of his neck, "the Truth-god's did experiments on Tut's family-line."

"We think he might even be a direct abductee," Yami mused. "Which would be astounding evidence, as it would prove the Truth-gods returned to Earth after the Goa'uld left…and reintroduced the Shadows back into humanities blood."

"Hence," Malik spread his hands wide, "why there are so many people these days who have abilities we can trace back to interaction with the Dark dimension. Pretty neat."

Daniel's interest peaked tenfold. "So…you think it's in a particular strand of DNA?"

"We don't think it is, we know it is," Yugi offered. "Seto's laboratory has been working on the Shadow-Gene for a while now…"

"This Seto sounds…well…my friend Sam really should meet him. I think they'd get along."

"Seto does not get along with people, people tolerate him." Ryou accepted his wallet from Bakura who bore Tutankhamen in his arms. The boy was licking his ice-cream rather energetically, making a good mess of it.

Bakura grinned at the sight. Ryou's hand went to the spirits shoulder, his eyes tender in that moment as they shared a brief, telling glance. Yugi sighed. Of all the things Bakura wanted so badly, why did it have to be children? He avoided the issue with Yami, for a reason he never even wanted to go near, and it was a damn good reason, one he had only shared with two other people, those being Ryou and Jii-chan and Ryou had managed so far to even keep the secret from Bakura which was a difficult task to say the least. Yet he knew both he and Ryou faced a bitter road if they desired families that would last as long as they would-Malik at least had come to terms with Tutankhamen's morality, something Yugi had no concept on, and wished so dearly he had his friend's understanding of the Afterlife. Malik's religion was his grounding, his stability, and he had explained so many times that he did not see death as an end or a passing, but a life begun a new.

He could not help but feel so very envious of Malik and his faith, and also sorrowful that the Tomb Keeper would never know the pleasures of his people's Afterlife. Maybe to him Tutankhamen was his way of passing that forbidden veil.

"Well, we're all here so we may as well get the rest of this tour finished." Yami clapped his hands down upon Yugi's shoulders, startling him out of his daze. He tipped his head up at the king, smiling in agreement, silently thanking him.

"Good idea."

"Yay! I get to see mah sarcophagus!" Tutankhamen waved his ice-cream in the air.

"It took me a long time to hunt that one down, kiddo." Yugi pinched the boy's nose fondly. "I almost drowned inside a pool of slime."

"I am the king of Egypt, I sent you on a quest, noble warrior, and you were victorious. I shall shower you in riches."

"Okay…" Malik snatched the boy from Bakura, "Let's not get ourselves carried away with playing king of Egypt again. You're just plain Tut these days, son of Malik, lord of the Tomb Keepers. You're inheriting nothing but tunnels and old fart-ships."

"Can I have a snake in my head too—" Malik slapped a hand over Tutankhamen's mouth. "Re Almighty, your mouth is like Seth's Anus today. Come on, rat-bag. Lead the way to the secret chamber before I decide to feed you to the jackals when we get home."

He set Tutankhamen down and slapped his backside smartly, sending him dashing off into the foyer of the Museum with a squeal of delight.

Malik shook his head. "I need a wife."

"I agree with that." Yugi passed him, pointing a finger under his nose. "You need to get laid."

"Oh yes, a wedding." Ryou clapped his hands, "We can throw it at my Manor, in the garden, I can see it now—"

Malik groaned, "I just said I need a wife! I didn't say start planning my entire bloody future."

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This Malik fellow was another ball in another court all together. Watching him walk ahead of him Daniel could just tell by the strut of his movements that he meant business, it was the same grated stroll that Bakura kept; only it was worse, ten-times worse, and it mirrored Teal'c's to the letter.

It was the walk of a man who had seen horrors, death and survived the worst kind of trauma the soul could endure. The smile that Malik flashed to Yugi and Ryou was so kind, he seemed to dote on the two like they were his saving grace, but it was as much of a mask as Jack's flamboyant boyish attitude was a coverall for the loss of his son.

If being around Jack, befriending the man, had taught him anything, it was that people always had another side to them—he could take that literally with Yugi and Ryou in the form of Bakura and Yami, but with Malik it would take some time to work out.

Little Tutankhamen led them on a merry dance through the belly of the Museum, deep into the sanctum of its holds, where boxed treasures where kept. Daniel could feel his fingers twitching with the desire to dart away and explore the crates surrounding him but they paused at an elevator within the cold basement. Tutankhamen was bouncing on his heels and Yami snatched him up.

"Don't think you're going to be able to work this code." The king chuckled, fiddling with a panel for a moment. The doors of the elevator wavered as though a force-field blinked off, blue vectors scattered over their surface and Yami reached out, twirling a finger over the surface of the metal door.

"Afternoon Noa, it's just us, plus an extra."

_Greetings, Pharaoh, brother informed me of your visit ahead of time. Your extra has been added to the visitors list. Welcome, Doctor Daniel Jackson, _an electronic voice chimed cheerfully.

Daniel looked around. "Ah, hello."

"It is Noa, the AI of Domino City. It runs…well…everything." Yugi shrugged as the elevator opened, allowing them entrance.

"An AI?" Now they were really pulling his leg.

_The Magi is being incorrect in his description of me. I was once a human, such as yourself, but my biological father synchronized my brain waves with that of a super-hive mind of a computer when my body became unable to sustain my life. I am effectively a bio-mechanical humanoid; this city…is my body. _

"Sam…really needs to come here." Daniel pressed back against the back of the elevator. The chime sounded and his heart rate spiked. Just what lay beyond the doors, what could possibly be more amazing than a human that had become an entire city, a Pharaoh that had split his own soul to save humanity, or meeting the real Tutankhamen?

"You ready for this?" Daniel barely heard Yugi's voice as the elevator doors opened. He felt as though he was entering the SGC for the first time, and that wonderful sensation of exploring something new, forbidden and incredible filled him with a tingling awe. This is what he truly lived for, and it had been lost in him when his wife had been stolen away. Tears swelled up for a moment. He sensed Yugi's touch on his arm and he glanced down at the young man, seeing his tender, understanding gaze. How did he do it? How did he know what he was thinking?  
Yugi smiled.

"From here on out, Daniel, you have my total and complete trust. Welcome to our greatest secret; the reason why I am known as the greatest Treasure Hunter in the world."


	5. GoDR Episode 4 - Methuselah

_Hey dearest readers! _

_Apparently when I mean a weekly update I must mean that I have been sucked into a time-vortex, or a black-hole, and live in some-time of bubble of non-existent doomsday slop in which I do not deliver a chapter when I…er…say I will._

_Forgive me._

_Whatever my life is made of it, it's made of crazy-nutty-chaos. We had this massive party on the weekend for my Nana's 80__th__ and though I knew we'd have more than enough food I made 200 cupcakes/mini-muffins and lots of cookies all through the week prior - and I have been writing two books, and illustrating, and I'm exhausted and fought of a migraine (super-awesome-painkiller powers!) but you know what, I'm totally cool with the fact that I'm not bored. _

_Sometimes I wake up and I'm like 'Ahhh, heck, this day is going to be awful, body is obviously in pain – but hey, not many people get time enough to sit and write, I'm really blessed, so let's go!' _

_I'm going to try and keep that kind of attitude as best as I can. I'm really grateful for the time I have been given, even if it's sometimes a black-hole that sucks me up and spits me out into a vortex so I don't upload for a while :D _

_I *really* hope you enjoy this update even though it's rather late. _

_Hi to the new people! *waves* Welcome, welcome, thanks for joining us! I am so glad you've come along for the ride. Please make yourself at home. And everyone else who sticks with me, thanks again for your support and kindness. You make my life so much brighter. _

_Onward,_

_KL_

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**Episode 4: Methuselah **

They must have gone down miles, deep underground, into some incredible vast network of tunnels that led off in all directions to sections of unexplored quadrants of laboratories or storage facilities. The entire layout reminded Daniel of some kind of video game from the future, and he almost could feel the zombies sneaking up on him, waiting to leap out and eat the flesh off his bones.

"This is Seto's domain," Yugi explained, as if it was the run-of-the-mill normality to have an concealed world under a city, "here he and his company continue to reshape the future. Much of the technology you see above ground in Domino City was first designed down here, and a lot of it was back-engineered from what Ryou and I gathered from our explorations and evacuations across the globe."

Yugi came to a round door, pressing on the surface. Glyphs phased over the surface and he twirled the hologram around, keying in a code. The door slid open.

Daniel felt Tutankhamen tear past him, the boy squealing in delight.

"My Sarcophagus!"

It was the first thing he laid his eyes on, maybe it was because he was familiar with it from his off-world jaunts, or because Tutankhamen dashed for it, but within the room full of incredible things that Daniel walked into he set his eyes upon the golden coffin of splendor.

His body froze. Dear Heavens, his Team would have wanted anything to be with him right this minute. Their mandate was to collect alien technology that could help humanity, and yet they always seemed to fail in that somehow, and now he was facing something that they would have given anything to have been able to get their SG1 hands on.

"You have a Goa'uld Sarcophagus!" Daniel stared gobsmacked at the long, golden box, hieroglyphs etched into its glistening surface. It was of a different design than those he had seen amongst the Goa'uld, different than the one Ra had placed him within when the god had revived him, and he himself had revived his wife after she had received a staff-blast wound. He shivered at the recollection, wishing it did not bring back the memories of his beloved-one and how he had failed her so terribly.

Tutankhamen was climbing all over it as if it was not some ancient artifact from a bygone era but a piece of playground equipment. Malik was laughing with gusto at his son's antics and no one seemed to mind at all that the boy was tramping all over something that had to be worth a bucket load of money considering the gold and jewels all over it.

"It is not a Goa'uld Sarcophagus, this one is pre-Goa'uld design. After the Goa'uld left Earth, the Egyptians still built them in the old-ways for at least another three hundred years. They were preserved only for the greatest of Pharaohs though. Few of them now remain. Tutankhamen's was the only one we were able to uncover, and well, we didn't uncover it at all." Yugi laughed, "Howard Carter had no idea what he really found in the Valley of the Kings."

"The Goa'uld didn't create the Sarcophagus technology either?" Daniel pressed his thumbs to his eyes.

"The Goa'uld Telchak was the one who back-engineered it from the Egyptian crafters after they discovered what it actually did. The Egyptian's did not use it for the same purpose the Goa'uld now do—extending the life of their host unnaturally." Yugi rubbed his chin, "Tutankhamen's Sarcophagus is the one we have for study purposes' however it isn't the only one we've got."

"You've got another one?" Daniel spluttered. Heavens above, he was not sure that he wanted to know anything else that they could pull out of thin air.

"Oh yeah," Yugi flashed him a sad smile. "This one is special. You'll notice right away, it's a lot prettier than Tut's. Come on, over here."

Daniel followed him, acting like he was school boy on a trip, trotting after his teacher. Yami glided behind them, and Daniel realized quickly that none of the others followed. Yugi ducked into a side room and switched on a light. Daniel reeled back, gaping at what had to have been the most beautiful, richest, priceless artifact he had ever laid his eyes upon and it was not even behind glass. Without hesitation, since there was no glass to stop him, he ran up to the Sarcophagus. It was encrusted with thousands of jewels, emerald, sapphire, ruby—he would never be able to guess them all. The features of the image within the gold stared back at him, hauntingly through time, intricate, pure and god-like, making it obvious to him that the one who had crafted it lovingly had worshiped the bearer of the face and adored him. Daniel touched the cold metal, breathing out in awe. He slowly turned, staring back at Yugi, his shadow of an ancient king floating behind him.

"It's you," he choked.

Yugi bowed his head. "The Nameless One."

Daniel frowned, glancing back at the hieroglyphs upon the Sarcophagus, indeed, that is just what they said. This was not like the Sarcophagi of the Goa'uld, this was a majestic piece of artwork, for burial, that would be hidden within a tomb to carry a Pharaoh into the afterlife. It was far richer than Tutankhamen's and he had to presume that was only because it predated the little-boy king's and had been built during a period of a far greater empire than that of the child. What kind of glorified kingdom he could only imagine, but it had to have been something so beyond his imagination he could not even classify it for the craftsmanship he had never even seen in any archeological documents he had ever beheld.

If he was not looking upon it he would not have believed it possible. There was an era of humanity that was missing entirely, wiped off the books of history, burned off the dust of the soil, and this was all that must have remained. He almost felt tears dampen the edges of his eyes at the grief of what had been lost—how far they had fallen.

Daniel brought himself back to reality, asking the question hot on his lips, "I don't get it, what did you use them for if not for healing and long life like the Goa'uld? They extend the Human life by centuries, they can heal any wound, they can bring you back from the dead!" he addressed Yami.

The king shook his head. "No Daniel, they are the door to the Afterlife."

The spirit floated toward him, landing on his feet and approaching him.

"There is no such thing as death; there is only the realm beyond, that was our way." Yami placed his hand upon the Sarcophagi and Daniel stepped back as the face cracked down the center and the long lid began to slowly open. A cold mist was released into the air as a light ebbed free in wisps. Yami motioned with a hand, daring him to peer inward.

Daniel hesitated, glancing to Yugi at the door.

The little man tried to smile. It was not very encouraging. He had to look, he had no choice, he needed to know what was lying within. He approached, peering into the coffin.

"My gosh." Daniel gulped back saliva.

He had been expecting what anyone would have expected—a wrapped mummy, or a decayed corpse, not the beautiful, ethereal version of a sleeping prince dressed in royal attire, grasping the regalia of high office. It was Yami, only he looked—alive—under all the gold and makeup that adorned his features. Daniel could have sworn that he had never seen a more beautiful, unreal sight, the only thing more stunning was his wife.

But this, no, this was a real Egyptian Pharaoh in his real coffin, preserved for centuries, just as he should have been.

"There was only an arm, and one of my eyes remaining after the final battle." Yami sat upon the edge of the Sarcophagi, folding his arms across his chest. "That's all they found of me…but that is what this machine does, Daniel, it is supposed to preserve us for eternity. So that we are as we should be for the Afterlife."

"That's…impossible…how could this reconstruct your entire body from just that?" Daniel stared blankly at the spirit.

Yami spread his hands, "It is imprinted with a…blue-print…would that be the right word, or a concept, a pattern, of its recipient, and from that it rebuilds that which it recalls from that which remains. A Pharaoh will do it when he is young, so that he will remain youthful in the Afterlife. It will return you to your prime if the blue-print is taken when you are of that age. I had this Sarcophagus made when I was fifteen, but the pattern encoded when I was twenty-one. You are seeing a boy here. I was twenty-five when I died."

"The Goa'uld of course, figured out another use for it, ignoring what it was truly designed for." Yugi shrugged. "Seto has yet to find out how they came across its healing, life-extending qualities. He wants to know, because he thinks he could make a lot of money if he could crack the idea and sell it to every hospital on Earth."

"It has side-effects when used in that manner." Yami rolled his eyes. "It's made to preserve a body, not to snap it back into health."

"Oh you know Seto, if there is a will, there is a way." Yugi bitterly laughed.

Daniel backed away. "Guys, you're not getting the point, that's your body from five thousand years ago and…" he pointed to Yugi, "if I get this right, you're his reincarnation."

"Hence why I am not going near it." Yugi motioned to his current position by the door. "We noticed rather early on when we dug it out of the collapsed tomb that I got really sick when I hung around it for a while. This…" He waved his hands around in the air, "This is a paradox. The same person, or the same vessel, in the same point of time, made only possible by some wacko technology." He held up the Puzzle. "We thought about putting Yami's other half of his soul back in that body but there were problems with that too."

Yami laughed. "It has been in there for a long time, the effects of the Sarcophagus would have damaged the body beyond repair. It's just something pretty to look at, now." Forlornly he gazed back down at the youthful body.

Daniel shook his head, wondering just how the king could possibly deal with seeing himself dead. Well, the beautifully dressed youth did appear as though he was sleeping in peace—just sleeping.

"Besides, I'm quite content being dead. I can protect those I love better in this form…and…that body had its set-backs." He floated upward, drifting back to stand beside Yugi. The lid of the Sarcophagus closed, resealing the forlorn image within.

"When you guys said you'd trust me, you really meant it." Daniel breathed in deeply.

Yugi spun on his heels, "Well, you have a Stargate, we don't."

"You have all this!" Daniel jogged after him, back into the main room. "I mean, come on, this is incredible." He spun around. Not in all his current adventures had he been able to find as much as this.

"This is only the Egyptian room," Ryou laughed from where he sat on a large golden throne, looking as if he had been born to sit upon it. If only Jack was here, Daniel was sure the Colonel would have had a thing or two to say about the English gentleman being everything like his historical Arthur ancestor. "There are many others, the Mayan, Aztec, Persian…just to name a few of the obvious."

"You're telling me you found all this _on_ Earth?" Daniel stopped from poking a familiar Goa'uld looking device—no—it was a Tau'ri device was it not. That was going to take some reframing in his head, reshuffling of his time-line. The research he was going to enjoy doing trying to deluge into the missing era that had been kept from him so well. Every inch of his skin was itching just thinking about the utter thrill there was to find out more of this kingdom of the Nameless Pharaoh the two young men had told him so much about already, but that he had only barely scratched the surface of.

Truth-gods and Shadow Realms—technology that had belonged Earth and Earth alone, a interplanetary trading network without the Stargate—all this before the Goa'uld—oh, how he felt so tiny, so wonderfully set back in his place!

"Oh yes." Yugi touched a finger to his nose, "You just had to know where to look." He glanced to Yami, "We had a head start. Yami and Bakura knew pretty much where things might be. Some of it was hit and miss, but we got pretty good at figuring out the signs and reading between the lines."

"Treasure Hunter," Daniel said, "you live up to your title, Yugi."

"Why thank you." Yugi puffed out his chest.

Daniel darted past him. He heard Yugi laugh at his antics, but he had spied a window and windows usually meant interesting things. He jolted to a stop. The window dropped into a large chamber, there lay the scattered remains of what he instantly recognized as a Goa'uld Mother-ship. Small people in lab-coats mingled around the massive chunks of ruined, dirty hull, busily attending to their work.

Not in all his life would he had imagined seeing such a sight. They did not even have this kind of scene at Area 51 yet.

"This…this is a…Goa'uld Mother-ship!" He spluttered, spreading his hands.

"No," Bakura floated up beside him, "This is a Tau'ri Ship, a Ha'tak…or parts of it. This _was _the _Hawk-Eye, _loosely translated," he wobbled a hand, wincing at the paraphrase. "She was the head of our fleet, the greatest ship to ever skim the skies. We had about four of them at the time of Yami's reign, but the _Hawk-Eye_ was our pride and joy, she had been passed down since the Flood. She went along with the Great Pyramid Ship, _Edeiden_…but _Edeiden_ was lost during a clash between the Mayans and the Egyptians some five hundred years before the Goa'uld even arrived."

Yami approached by at the window, "Some of the languages from the Tower of Babel are still carved into her hull." He motioned to the _Hawk-Eye's_ remains, "I remember my mentor trying to teach them to me when I was boy. I wish now I bothered listening to him, the things I could tell you, Daniel, if I had just retained an ounce of what was said to me by my teachers."

"Why didn't you?"

Yami cracked a grin, "Unlike my other half, Daniel, I'm not a scholar, I'm a warrior. The scholar part of me didn't get out and about until the war started and I began realizing I should have studied more. I was far more interested in women, games and battles as a boy. I wanted to be the best pilot, I wanted to catch the Thief King."

Bakura snorted. "No one catches the Thief King. I was the greatest pilot your bloody Empire had ever seen and will ever see again."

"I caught you."

"You tricked me."

"I still caught you."

"You didn't win."

"I still caught you."

"But you didn't win the race. I still won."

"Doesn't matter, I caught you, I did what no one said was possible. I caught the Thief King who was terrorizing the trading routes between planets. After that, you owed your life to me. That was the deal. Don't complain." Yami leaned upon the railing over the window.

Daniel studied the king. Even in the casual wear he looked so integral, staring sadly at the ruins of his decayed empire around him. It was heart-breaking.

Bakura shook his head, "You should have killed me, Temmy."

Temmy? Daniel blinked, wait, Temmy? These two had pet-names for each other—did they even know he was still standing here between them, or had they gone into a zone that went beyond his presence.

"I never kill someone I can use."

"Use? You didn't use me, you made me your First Prime, the third most powerful man in your bloody Empire?" Bakura spread his arms wide, "Some considered you to be the stupidest boy-king of them all."

"We won every battle we faced, until the last one." Yami turned to Daniel. "I choose my allies well. There is a reason why I am Pharaoh."

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Daniel walked around in a dream state, not really sure if he was truly in reality or not. When he found himself back in the foyer of the museum, staring out the window of the café, he suddenly realized he had walked out of the underground secret catacombs in a haze of automatic. Now he held a cup of hot steaming coffee in his hands and was watching a game of Duel Monsters unfold.

However did he get back here?

He had only been in the room with all the amazing old artifacts only a moment ago. When had time shifted, when had the sun crept behind the skyline of Domino? He sighed. What would Jack, Sam and Teal'c be doing right now? He had to wonder if they were off-world without him, saving the planet, doing daring-do's and running from Jaffa. That would be Jack, not able to sit still for a couple of days.

He smiled at the sight of Tutankhamen dancing around the tables of the empty café, keeping himself entertained. It seemed the little boy king knew how to play-imaginary all by himself, and had no problem being in his own little world. Or maybe…maybe he could see things that were not really there? Daniel squinted behind his glasses. Maybe that was it. The boy was playing with his Monsters, those creatures that danced in the shadows of the lazy sunlight glistening through the large windows as it snaked and flickered off the glass of skyscrapers.

The museum was quite in the evening atmosphere and he had the sense that Yugi and his small troop were welcome visitors who could linger as long as they so desired. The young man was making his way toward him, bearing his own hot beverage, something sweet not doubt.

Daniel smiled as Yugi swung around a chair and collapsed into it. It was hard now not to see the pale, sleeping beauty lying within the coffin when staring at the alive little version across from him. Daniel repressed a shiver. What a strange world, where three version of the same man could exist. One dead, entombed forever in a peaceful bliss of death, the other alive and well with a beating heart so pure and brave, while his darker half was forever kept from him by a barer of their broken soul.

"Can you speak yet?" Yugi's eyebrows lifted in jest, though Daniel was positive he meant his words.

He had been cast into a speechless state for a while there.

"Got my voice back thanks." Daniel lifted his coffee in a toast. "Big day."

"You took it rather well, you did not faint at all when you saw the Ha'tak. I was kind of expecting you to faint there. It's a big ship…and…you know…it's a space-ship. If I had not been trying to stop a mountain of sand from burying me alive at the time of discovering the first piece, I would have totally fainted. I mean, come on, space-ship." He popped his lips.

"I've been in a Pyramid Ship, they're bigger." Daniel offered.

"Rub it in my face." Yugi sighed. "I cannot imagine what it would be like to fly in a space-ship. Or go through the Stargate. I just have Yami's memories and they're not as good as real, physical experience."

Daniel stared into his coffee, the swirls, they were saying something, just like the ripples of the gate's event horizon. This was the moment of truth he supposed, where he had to make that decision on behalf of his team. A decision to trust Yugi just like the man had trusted him.

Daniel breathed in deeply and reached slowly into his bag, carefully withdrawing the bound tablet he had carried with him from America, to England and from England to Japan. He passed it to Yugi.

The young man took it, surprised at the gesture.

"You can translate it, right?"

"Well, sure." Yugi rubbed his forehead, setting his drink on a table. "But—"

"I am sure some kind of arrangement can be made. As far as I am concerned, even just having you consulting would be of great benefit to our cause."

Yugi's smile was tender. "We only want to save Earth."

"We have that in common." Daniel nodded.

Yugi unwrapped the tablet, giving it a once over. He pursed his lips in thought before giving a shout.

"Hey Tut!"

Daniel gave a start, almost losing his drink.

Tutankhamen dashed over. He skidded to a stop directly in front of Yugi.

"Yes Uncle!"

Yugi held out the tablet to the boy, pointing to the hieroglyph in question, "Do you remember anything about this symbol here, from the dreams you had about the star-people, in your other-life."

Peering at the tablet and the markings in question Tutankhamen frowned in deep concentration.

"It is nothing. It's a point of no return," the boy whispered. "It will lead you nowhere, Magi."

Yugi nodded.

"Thank's Tut. You can keep playing." He ruffled the boy's mop of hair. Tutankhamen whooped and skidded away. Yugi laughed softly at the sight of him vanish down the stairs into the main foyer. He set the tablet aside.

Daniel felt the warm gaze settle upon him.

"I believe what we seek is out there, a way to destroy the Goa'uld and to protect our home."

"A point of no return…nowhere?" Daniel questioned. It did not make sense, what Tutankhamen had said.

Yugi raised an eyebrow, "Oh, come now…you know this riddle, easy!"

"I do?"

"Sure you do! The Goa'uld didn't have a word for nothing, for nowhere, for no return—until they meet us…the Welders of Shadows."

Daniel scrubbed a hand through his hair. He faced the window, to the young duelists battling it out. They were Welders of Shadows, the new generation of this era. Something he had never seen, never heard of, but something that was beginning an entirely new system of defense for their planet that would overtake the Amercian military in no-time. They had to join the fight and join forces; Jack would want that, he would really want that.

"I think I need to call my team now."

"Do you think they'll like me?" Yugi's smile was suddenly boyish and hopeful.

Daniel laughed, "Yugi, I don't think it's possible for anyone to not like you."

He was not going to tell him that Jack could sometimes read people really well, for being the crazy idiot he was sometimes.

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They had spent the rest of the day wandering Domino, enjoying the calm atmosphere and quelling Daniel's nerves of calling his 'team'. The poor guy was a bundle of excitement and jitters. Yugi did not envy him his task of having to call up the military, and he too shared some of the archeologist's apprehension of how the Americans were going to take the whole shebang. They had the Stargate, they had to hope that they were not going to feel threatened by finding out there was another group of just as technologically equipped fellows on Earth who knew about the whole Goa'uld—actually—who knew more.

And not to mention the whole 'oh-yeah-we've-got-dead-spirits-attached-around-our-necks' thing—it was a bit…ah…wild.

He was glad they had not even mentioned Malik and the Tomb Keepers. That one they would save until they were utterly sure the Americans could survive the first shock-wave.

Wandering their way back to the Game Shop the world seemed entirely wonderful. It was almost as if they had stepped back in time and were teenagers again, laughing under the light of the street-lamps after a day out at the town. Only Malik had a kid tucked against his chest, half asleep. That was new.

Yugi huddled closer to Yami, "You know, you need to radiate warmth or something, because it's hard to snuggle a dead-guy when he's as cold as it is outside."

Yami laughed. "I'll work on that."

The king's laughter was as uplifting and warm as any human's touch. Yugi smiled contently. He could live on just Yami's laughter.

Just ahead Malik had slowed down at the steps of the Game Shop, his head tilted upward.

"What's wrong Malik?" Yugi caught the upheaval of consern from the Tomb Keeper, ebbing off him like a coat of yellow ink, smelling of sulfuric-acid. He crinkled his nose.

"The lights aren't on." Malik motioned to the upstairs windows. His brow was compressed into a dark frown. "Surely Jii-chan hasn't gone to bed." He checked his watch, "It's not even late yet."

Ryou drew away from Bakura, "Did Jii-chan say he was going out Yugi?"

"No." Alarmed Yugi moved to the door, testing it. It was unlocked. His heart rate spiked. Jii-chan always locked up the Game Shop come seven at night on the dot. His routine was never broken. It was never, ever broken, not for anything save his soul being stolen or Alexander the Great requesting his presence.

Everything in him wanted to burst open the door, smash through the Game Shop and dash up the stairs but he kept himself in check and carefully crept into the dark interior, letting the street lamp light guide him. He heard the others enter behind him, one by one, the doorbell chiming with each leg passing by its little lazier.

Bother that doorbell!

He made to start up the stairs.

"Wait…Yugi…" Yami held out a hand and stalled his approach to the upper levels.

_Something is very wrong. _The Pharaoh added mentally.

_I sense it too._ Bakura interjected. _The Shadows in the house have all converged in the bedroom, as if they're protecting Solomon. I cannot get a word out of them. They've shut up. _

Yugi's eyes widened at the mention of his grandfather. He dashed up the stairs without another word, his feet light upon the wood.

_No, Aibou! _Yami's voice echoed in his mind as a bitter warning, but he ignored it, because he could.

He felt Ryou quickly follow and sensed the Light grasp his shoulder. He jerked around, catching sight of his friend eyes. They were glittering a yellow shine, having become thin slits' of pure gold. Ryou lifted his lips, revealing twin fangs. He shook his head in the dim light.

_Blood, Yugi. I smell a lot of it, _Ryou mentally spoke.

_Is it Jii-chans?_

_He recently took the Elixir right?_

_Yeah, this morning._

_Then no, it is not Jii-chans. _

Yugi touched the wall beside him, feeling the coolness of Yami's shadow presence within it. The spirits red eyes flickered briefly upon the surface and Yugi nodded in agreement, watching as the wraith faded away. Ryou crouched lower as Malik finally made his way up the stairs. The Tomb Keeper brushed up against Ryou.

_You both okay? _he inquired.

_Where is Tut?_ Ryou peered back down the stairs.

_Down with Daniel. So what are we looking at? I sense blood, Ryou…will you be alright?_

_I've taken my tablets today, I'll be fine—it could be a robbery gone wrong. _Ryou offered.

_Jii-chan would have called the police, or us._ Yugi shook his head.

_Not if he couldn't. _Malik clenched his fists. _Damn I need my swords. We have to get out of his tight space. _

_Yami's trying to see what's going on, but the Shadow's in the house are acting really strange. They're not talking to him or Bakura. They've shut themselves off and are just in one area. _Yugi wrapped himself in a tight hug. A cold feeling was beginning to creep under his skin.

_It is odd that they did not warn us of this while we were out. _Ryou frowned. His eyes glittered and Yugi realized his fellow light was now in full night-vision, this was no longer his dear, gentle and softly spoken friend—this was the predator. Yugi closed his eyes for a brief moment, calling on his own light, he counted the souls in the room. He frowned. Static—why was he getting static?

_I can't sense anything; something is blocking my third-eye, _Yugi 'pathed, _I'm just getting static._

_Static? Mind-static…wait…_ Ryou's eyes went as large as a feline in fright, _Get Down!_ He flung out his arms, thrusting Yugi to the wall.

The blast that erupted down the stairs knocked Ryou down the flight. Yugi pressed himself against the wall, feeling a bullet graze his thigh. Malik hit the ceiling, his anti-gravity belt propelling him upward. Yugi felt a surge of cold burn through his limbs as Yami suddenly took control and dragged him through the wall into the next room. The pain was intense, as it always was when the Pharaoh forced him to phase between dimensions. For a moment he could not move, his body stinging of ice.

_Yugi! Move, or I will make you! _

He swore at the king, though was unaware of what it was he actually said, and held out his hands, willing pools of molten light to appear. Down his bare arms veins of gold threaded in mystic patterns of leaves finishing at the tips of his fingers until his twin pistols were forged. He was too slow. He had not Summoned them in almost three years—fudge—he was unpracticed. Twirling them he darted out of the room, ignoring his bleeding leg, listening to the commotion in the living room. Malik must have been fighting, and from the backlashing feelings through his skin, so was Yami, and someone was managing to lay blows on his other-half. That rarely happened—was Yami putting himself in harm's way so Malik would not get hurt? They must have been using the typical duelist technique, defense and attack. Yami always played as defense card when they were out-numbered, and it was a sign the situation was never good if the king had to defend and not attack.

Just who had dared enter into a house protected by Shadows and go up against Yami, Bakura and Malik—wait—Yugi's eyes widened.

No.

It could not be.

His heart leapt up into his throat.

The Illuminati, they had come.

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The sound of the gunfire had been horrifying, bringing Daniel right back onto the battlefields. He had not expected to ever hear it in the middle of a quaint little Game Shop. In was dark and the only light to see anything by bled through the front windows from the street lamps.

Tutankhamen's eerie alien eyes flickered. The child reared backwards with a shout of alarm as a body rolled down the stairs, skidding across the glossy floor to shatter a display cabinet. Daniel shot up.

It was Ryou. The Count floundered around in the glass, the splinters cutting his flesh as he hoisted himself upright. Daniel made to move.

"Stay away!" Ryou screeched, gripping his chest as he reared back against the ruined display case. "Daniel stay away from me. Tut, get iron, get something iron."

"Ryou, you're bleeding out!" Daniel spluttered. The Count's shirt was shredded, his chest frayed, skin and muscle torn like paper.

Ryou spat out blood, and something else—Holy Hannah, he was vomiting bullets. He flung out a hand and Daniel stalled in his approach, staring blankly at the bladed claws that had not been there a moment ago. Ryou slowly looked upward at him. What had once been his tender brown eyes had flared into yellow stained slits.

"Do not move," he wheezed, blood leaking between his lips. "Or I will attack you, Daniel. Stay as still…as you possibly can. Even better, do not breathe! In this state, I am capable of ripping you apart."

Tears were leaking down his cheek, tears of pain? No, they could not have been from the pain, Daniel doubted in that moment that the thing in front of him was suffering under the pain—the tears had to be endurance from the strain of holding back whatever desire it had to pounce upon him. Agony, he could see agony in Ryou's eyes.

Tutankhamen came running past him in a blur, bearing an iron crowbar. He reared it over his head. Daniel cringed back in alarm as the boy swung it hard at the Count, smashing it into his head.

"Back! Stay back, Uncle, back I say!"

Ryou landed in a heap. Tutankhamen did not stop. He swung the crowbar again, landing another mighty hit. He stopped only on the fifth swing and quickly sprinted back to Daniel, wiping blood from his face.

"You…you just killed him?" Daniel spluttered.

"Killed him?" Tutankhamen looked confused. "You think being hit with a crowbar would kill Uncle Ryou? No, I had to knock him out, only iron does it really well. He has silver in his veins, it makes him really crazy. Now quiet, stupid uplander." Tutankhamen plopped himself on the bloody floor, crossing his legs. "I am not good at using my Shadows but I need silence. Tying Uncle up is going to be hard but I can't let him get out. He will eat people."

Daniel flailed back. "Eat…eat people."

Tutankhamen lifted one eyelid, looking up at Daniel. The boy looked deadly serious; there was not an ounce of jest in his pale silver eyes.

Daniel gulped.

"Yes. Eat people. He needs blood when silver gets in his body. Those bullets, they are made of silver." Tutankhamen glanced toward the stairs. "Dad's in trouble."

Daniel scrambled to his feet. "I'll go. You do your magic."

"You are not a warrior, you are a scribe. It is not your place." The boy shouted after him.

Daniel smiled. Yep, the kid was very much from a different place and time for sure but funnily enough, he sounded just like Jack. Some things just did not change.

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Yugi really did not know what he was expecting when he burst into the living room with guns blazing, but the sight of Malik barely missing a flung knife and deflecting it with one of his blades had not been it.

The knife spun off in his direction.

Yami caught it throwing it back at one of the red cloaked men and tearing his hood clean off. Yugi ducked swiftly behind the protective barrier of his darker half, briefly catching sight of the Illuminati warriors. Trained assassins with only one thing on their minds—to hunt and kill _things_ they did not consider human and things they considered a threat in their strict holy order of lets-beat-the-crud out of everyone. That two of them had been sent meant they were meaning business.

"Come on you pieces of dung," Malik hid behind a couch, "give me one damned good reason not to release a Khamsin in here!"

That threat seemed to still the two warriors. Yugi felt a chill run down his spine, Malik would not dare cast that kind of spell in his grandfather's living room, would he?

Yugi tightened his grip on his twin pistols.

_Yami? Would he do that…?_

_Malik has sworn to never use the Shadows without his balance, so I doubt it, _the dark replied.

Yugi searched an opening. Every moment they wasted Ryou was in danger and they still had no idea what had happened to Jii-chan. The two Illuminati men with the red coats and pale hair, looking so annoyingly proud standing there in the middle of the living room—in his grandfather's living room—looked utterly at peace with the world and hardly threatened by them at all.

_Yami, what do we do?_

_They do not know you're here yet. I'll sneak up under one, you take him out with a head-shot while I pin him down. They're too focused on Malik at the moment. _

_Alright. _Yugi nodded.

Yami's presence was gone, leaving him void and feeling naked and unshielded. He hid in the shadows, willing himself to be one with them.

He caught the movement, just as the two Illuminati did.

"Daniel!" Yugi shouted, the alarm of catching the unarmed American in the dim light of the stair-well scattered across the floor from the connection between realms and the Illuminati that moved to fire his horrific weapon upon Daniel crumbled in a dead faint from the surge. Malik moved like wind, swiping the man's head clean off, finishing the deed.

Yugi had a split second of comprehension, Daniel was safe, but to his left the sound of an ancient weapon being released made him twist on his heels. He flung up his arms in protection but action had no effect. He only heard Yami's echoing shout and felt the sheering pain as iron rods speared through his shoulders.

He slammed into the nearest wall, pinned to it like a piece of fabric. A hex scorched the surface of the paintwork, spanning out in a loop as it sealed him with his own blood, locking Yami firmly within the Puzzle.

A gun was pressed to his head and he stared through blinding tears at the tall man, the Illuminati that Yami had flung the knife at. At least he had no hood, at least he could stare the man in the eyes.

Malik was holding one of his curved blades out, stalling Daniel's approach. The Tomb Keeper's rage was evident. Yugi shook his head weakly, whispering a single word—no—despite the gorging pain, despite being sealed off from Yami with the worst kind of hex, this situation was still entirely under control. Malik had no reason to bring out Mairk. These stupid, blundering Illuminati had attacked them in the wrong House, pinning him to the wall had been a fatal mistake.

He breathed out as a warm hand touched his wrist through the wall, the Shadows that protected the Game Shop were finally stirring. He closed his eyes. Jii-chan was finally here.

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Daniel had just seen Malik decapitate a man. He had no idea who the man was, but he figured he was one of the bad guys, or so he hoped. So he had seen some pretty bloody stuff in his time during the military and going off-world, but watching a curved blade go straight through a neck in one single swipe was something he had never expected to witness in an upstairs living-room—in Japan.

The feat alone meant Malik was strong, stronger than he let on. He had also not even hesitated to do it, which was rather terrifying to now be standing next to him, looking right down at his bloody blade.

The second after that happened, Yugi was flung back to the wall by glowing rods through his shoulders and hell broke loose. The second man in red had barely held a gun to the head of the young man before the wall shuttered and Solomon stepped through as though it was mere liquid.

Daniel gaped at the movement of the old man as he twisted expertly. At some point in his life he must have had military training, for he disarmed the man in one swift action and snatch the gun keenly from his broken hand and pointed it at his head.

"Move and I will fire. No one treats my grandson in such a manner." The grandfather's voice was bitterly cold.

"Your grandson is possessed," the man snarled.

It was not the answer he should have given, Daniel figured. Solomon did not look pleased.

Solomon smashed the butt of the weapon into the man's face and he hit the floor.

Daniel winced as the weapon fired, once, twice.

Solomon flicked the gun aside. "Bastard, you're incredibly lucky I gave you a quick death and didn't let the Pharaoh deal with you. Coming in here and fussing up my shop, shooting my grandchildren. Malik, get over here, boy!"

"Jii-chan! Where have you been?" Malik dashed forward. Daniel raked his hands through his hair; his legs were refusing to follow.

"The Shadows were refusing to let me out of my bedroom!" Solomon snapped. "They must have been provoked when those idiots finally damaged the walls." He turned to Yugi, reaching for the nearest rod buried through his shoulder.

"Don't touch them." Yugi's head snapped up. "They're hexed."

Solomon stepped back in alarm and Malik flung up his arms. "Oh gods be damned. You have got to be joking. Daniel! Get your unmagical backside over here."

Daniel pointed to himself. "Me?"

"Yes you!" Malik howled. "Make yourself useful instead of being a target to get shot at. I thought I told you to stay down there with Tut."

He forced his legs to move and scooted past the dead red-robed man, whoever he was.

Approaching Yugi he suddenly realized the rods were not just pinning him, they had gone through his shoulders. He was bleeding. He made hast, noticing the young man was heaving in gasps of air in an obvious attempt to maintain his composure.

"We can't touch them; you're going to have to rip them out." Malik pointed, "Should be pretty easy if you're not magical."

Appearing through the stairwell in a bounding leap Tutankhamen shoved him ruthlessly forward, "Do it, Doctor Daniel Jackson! Prove your worth as a man-of-the-pen."

The boy was right, this was no time to freeze up. Jack would be very disappointed in him for sure. Daniel brushed past Solomon. Though his eyes wanted to study the alien markings scorched into the wall he knew that for sure they would still be there when he dealt with the task at hand.

"Sorry Yugi." He felt a wave of guilt as he grabbed the nearest rod and twisted it, tearing it free. Yugi snagged his arm for support, his eyes widening in pain.

"Don't sweat it." The young man bit his lips as he braced himself against the wall and Daniel twisted free the final rod. Something snapped back upon him like a backlash of a whip, his hands ignited with a blue flame, engulfing his skin for a moment and he stepped back in fright, watching in horror as symbols traced down his arms only to blister away in squealing wails to leave not a single mark.

What in all the stars—

He twisted back to watch as Yugi slid down the wall to collapse in a heap. Solomon and Malik knelt beside him, studying the wounds.

Tutankhamen whistled up at Daniel. "Worthy of something, scribe."

"What about Ryou?" Daniel glanced toward the stairs.

"I'll get him." Malik pressed the fabric of his shirt to Yugi's bleeding shoulder, "Jii-chan, you call Seto. Tell him to bring around the antidote and…I donno…a ton a blood. Tut, can you fetch the medical kit from under the bed. My Tok'ra one."

"Yep, yep." Tutankhamen dashed out the living room door.

"What do we do?" Yugi's voice was soft, weak with pain. He peered up at Malik.

Daniel knelt beside him, removing his sweater and taking Solomon's place in stalling the blood-flow.

"How long do you think Bakura is going to be able to keep him sedated? Tut's binding spell will wear off, bless-him, but he's not that good yet," Yugi added.

"Re help us if he wakes up," Malik whispered. "You and I alone will not be strong enough to stop him. Your grandfather wouldn't happen to have his Blue Eyes lying around would he?"

"What is he?" Daniel looked between them both.

Malik stood to his feet, throwing his sword into the air and watching it vanish in a twirl of light. "You think the Goa'uld are bad, you should have met Ryou's race when they ruled this planet more millennia go then history can recall. There aren't enough of them left now to be a problem, and they've become rather peaceful, but when they are triggered…you have a problem unless you can stop them."

Yugi winced, gripping his shoulder. Daniel pressed the bloodied sweater deeper into the wound. He could not believe Yugi was still conscious, nor that the two wounds had not caused him to bleed out yet. In fact, he could have sworn they were beginning to slowly close over, as if the muscle and skin was rethreading.

"Did you ever wonder where the legends of the vampires come from?" His large eyes looked worriedly toward him and Daniel gulped back saliva, wetting his suddenly dry mouth.

"Well…congratulations, you've met a Methuselah, a human that hosts parasitical bacteria from ancient Mars." Yugi would have spread his hands, Daniel was sure of it, to hone in his point.

"Vampire is an insult to them," Malik shook his head, "It's like calling them uncivilized, murdering blood-suckers who have no control. Don't ever call him a Vampire unless you're wanting a really pissed off, strong and insanely fast alien kneeing you in the groin. Trust me…we've seen it."

"Joey," Daniel recalled, "he called him a vampire in his novel."

Yugi wheezed out a weak laugh. "He had no idea he was actually stabbing so close to the truth."

Daniel did a double take. "Wait, your friends don't know?"

Malik shook his head. "This secret is one best kept to a tight circle, Ryou gets pretty embarrassed about it. He's a sweet soul."

"But you're just leaving him down there?"

Malik gave a bitter laugh, "I'm not picking him up until I have too. I don't feel like getting my throat ripped out unless it's utterly necessary. He can stay down there with Bakura's shadows, Seth's Balls, I am so glad that ugly-butt thief is his Dark."

Yugi glanced aside as Tutankhamen tore through the doorway with the medical kit. "I know…only someone who has held the soul of a Goa'uld back for thousands of years would ever know what it is like to keep back another type of parasite. Isn't it strange…how the Truth-god Re seemed to give Yami and Bakura hosts that need them?"

"Not really." Daniel took the kit from Tutankhamen. "I would see it more like you are the examples of human equivalence, what happened in a past-life is imprinting itself on the future, like a ripple effect through time."

Daniel blushed at Yugi's sudden stare. "You are honestly the most wonderful man on this planet right now."

"What? I just...it's a theory." Daniel shrugged, he busied himself with trying to open the kit.

Malik crouched down, "I like you, Daniel, but you're not going to be able to use this medical-kit, it's designed for people like me. You've got to have a particular mineral in your blood to use these devices."

Daniel narrowed his eyes. That sounded incredibly interesting and something he had not heard of before, from any of his off-world contacts. Sam would defiantly want to learn more about this piece of information.

Malik unclipped the kit's lid, pulling free a round circular pad that he slipped onto his hand. Daniel peered into the box, his chest tightening at the sight of what else was therein. He knew both of the contents well, he had seen them before, but he had never expected to witness Humans using them!

"This is a…" Daniel held up the contraption he had spotted, even as Malik was applying the healing device to Yugi's shoulders, "Goa'uld hand-device."

Malik did not stir from his concentration, "Actually, that one belonged to Yami and they're called Shadow Gauntlets," he offered, hardly perplexed by the accusing tone.

"I have seen this used on my…wife…" Daniel gulped. Just holding the device, whatever it was called or named, or used for, made him feel nauseated—more so than the dead-bodies in the room, and just what he had witnessed only moments before, all that did not matter anymore, only the memories of his wife being taken from him remained.

"They're pretty awful things, when used in the wrong hands…or even the right ones." Malik nodded in agreement, pulling the healing tool away from one shoulder and applying it to the other. "I keep telling Yugi here he needs to learn to use it, then he could have avoided being hexed."

"Shut up," Yugi whined, kicking out at the Egyptian with a leg.

Malik pulled away. "Just saying." He raised his hands in truce. "Anyway, all done. Should be alright now, but no pulling, you'll reopen something on the inside. I'm no healer."

"Thanks Malik." Yugi rolled his shoulder, wincing in pain. Daniel held him upright, astounded at the young man's endurance.

"Easy," he offered.

"How's Yami?" Malik set the healing tool back into its case.

Yugi touched the Puzzle. "Ah, using language I dare not repeat right this minute. The Hex did a number on my Light; he won't be able to create a physical form without damaging me for a while. He's going to be stuck in the Puzzle for a couple hours."

"Sweet," Malik clapped his hands, "I'm boss for a day."

"He says don't get too excited, you've got a mess to clean up."

"That's Seto's job." Solomon entered through the doorway, approaching them. Daniel instinctively wanted to back away from the old man after having watched him shoot the red-cloaked man lying in a pool of blood on the floor at point-blank range but he remained beside Yugi, steadying him.

"Seto is coming then, good." Malik relaxed.

Solomon lifted Tutankhamen onto his hip. "I'm going to take Tutankhamen out of the house, he does not need to be here any longer, not with these foul things in here." He threw a glare at the dead bodies, his expression darkening. "We'll get ice-cream."

Ice-cream—Daniel's cheeks paled, the little boy was not even flinching at the sight of everything that had happened, what kind of crazy environment were they raising the—wait—back-track, this was the boy-king Tutankhamen he was thinking about, he had no doubt the kid had seen worse for sure.

"But Grand—"

"Tutankhamen," Malik done dropped, "You will go with Grandfather now, you will not cause a scene, you are a son of the great god Re and you will behave like one. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Dad." The boy bowed his head and curled against the old-man's overalls. Solomon nodded and turned aside. He exited through the back entrance and they heard the door close with a chime. Malik seemed to visibly relax.

"Alright, now I can get Ryou." He passed Yugi the Goa'uld hand-device. "Put that on, we might need it."

Yugi looked mortified at the thought. Daniel did not blame him. "I'm not using this on Ryou!"

"You will when he comes at you."

"He would never attack me."

"I would if I had bacteria in me that was eating me alive unless I consumed blood and the only way I could get blood was a lovely little piece of raw human meat. Can you imagine the agonizing pain he must be under filled with silver? One of the few things that activates that stuff inside him…come on, give him some credit for not charging up here and eating us."

Okay. Daniel's shoulders twitched, he wrapped himself tighter in his coat. Now he understood far more the agony and tears he had witnessed in the Count's eyes. They made perfect sense. How cruel for the dear, tender man, who was so kindly and gentle. He shivered, his coat was useless at taking away the chill he could feel.

"I should have listened to Pastor Mark and made him stay home," Yugi continued.

Malik snorted. "Good luck with that." He vanished down the stairs.

Yugi slid the hand-device on and wiggled the fingers. Daniel held out his hand and Yugi sized it. With a hoist Daniel lifted him to his feet, watching as the young man trembled with the force of trying to stand. He caught him as he swayed.

"You should really not walk around." Daniel chewed his lip.

Yugi gave a dark laugh. "Yami is having a hissy fit at me enough as it is so don't you start."

Daniel glanced at the charred patterns in the wall. Magic—they had called it a hex. He shook his head. This was beginning to far beyond his realm of understanding.

"I'm sorry Daniel, I really had hoped to never make you see this side of our life. We always drag people into our troubles."

"Yugi, your Grandfather just shot a man at point-blank range and he is lying over there with his brains all over the carpet and I'm…just confused. Who are they?"

"The Illuminati, they slaughter people like me, like Ryou…anything that they deem unnatural, inhuman, against their religion. They've been around since the Dark Ages, King Arthur's old man created them…never realizing they'd end up nearly wiping out his own bloodline."

"Ryou…" Daniel whispered.

Yugi nodded weakly. "Ryou's the last of the Pendragons, which if you want to, is his actual last-name; Bakura was his mother's maiden name. He took that when he came to Japan."

Daniel rather wanted to laugh out loud, but he could not find the will to do so, not surrounded by the gloomy atmosphere. He stored the information aside for later, knowing that at some point he would need it. This entire adventure away from the SGC, meeting these marvelous young men who were so like him and yet had lived lives more bizarre than he could have imagined, had awakened the desire to explore again.

He was back to where he should have been, back to his old self, this was the Daniel Jackson he was supposed to be.

Malik appeared atop the stairs and Yugi's attention shifted. He made a be-line for the table, shoving everything off it with a swoop of his limp arm. Daniel kicked away the chairs and Malik hoisted up the limp body of the Count. They stood staring at the bloodied sight in the dim light. Yugi was making a soft mewing sound, covering his cheeks in horror.

"Bakura is going to be so angry when he gets back out of the Ring. Malik…can we…can we get any of the bullets out?"

"The silver melted."

Yugi fisted his hands. "We can't remove the bullets then."

"Nope, they keep thinking of new ways to torture them don't they?" Malik curled his lips. "Damn it, I hope Seto has that antidote or we are screwed."

"The healing device," Daniel pointed to it, "couldn't you use it?"

"Doesn't work on Methuselahs…" Malik sighed.

"We think it's programmed into them," Yugi began to pace, "though we don't know how or why, but the alien bacteria that makes Ryou what he is, it doesn't…it doesn't…respond well with the Goa'uld in general. I can't back it up with proof, but as an archeologist, I'm theorizing that at some point, the bacteria came in contact with the Goa'uld and it can remember it."

"Genetic memory in a bacteria?" Daniel whispered.

"It's my best guess." Yugi hugged his arms. He looked sick. Daniel motioned to a chair, surprised when he shook his head, not taking the offer for the seat.

The doorbell below chimed. Malik twisted on his feet as footstep pounded up the stairs. Daniel froze, hoping it was not nothing else they had to defend against. Malik crossed his arms, his expression going sour.

"Seto, finally."

"Yugi!" A young woman dashed across the room, ignoring entirely the dead bodies upon the floor. She leapt over one and flung her arms around Yugi, hugging him tenderly before stepping back and quickly turning him in a full circle to inspect him.

"You were impaled!"

"It's okay, Malik took the healing device to me and remember, I heal quickly."

"I'm still going to take you to the hospital for an ultrasound."

"Serenity, that really won't—"  
"You, are you alright? Have you been hurt?" She jerked toward Daniel and grabbed his arms. Daniel squeaked as he found himself being patted down.

"No, no…I'm okay," he spluttered.

"Malik! You're next."

"Deal with Ryou, Ser, I'm fine." Malik held up his hands, "I swear to my gods, I'm fine, woman."

"Serenity, don't bother with them. They're obviously fine." The stoic, monotone voice broke the room like a blunt knife. Daniel breathed in deeply, his lungs catching at the sight of the figure in the doorway. Wait, wait a second—the Seto that Sam gushed over every time she received a new Science Monthly magazine was this Seto, really?

This was _the _Seto Kaiba of fame and fortune, he did not look at all like he did in magazines, or on the news. This was a graceful young man in a pair of jeans and a gray shirt looking exhausted and high on caffeine. His ebony hair was tucked behind his ears, making them stick out just a bit too wide on his square jawed features. Overall, he was not at all anything to look at, not when he appeared as though he had just rolled himself out of bed.

"I've got the antidote." He held out a canister. "Pray it works." In his other hand he held up an esky, "And type O-blood." He threw it at Malik, "Serenity, darling, get the drip going. I need to make some calls about the bodies and get this place cleaned out. Yugi, does Jii-chan have any preference for the color of his carpet."

"If we're going for a full renovation, make it tiles." Yugi sighed, "Easier to wash the blood off next time."

"Good call." Seto strolled past, placing a hand upon Yugi's shoulder, "This can't happen again. We cannot loose either one of you to these religious fanatics."

"I know." Yugi bowed his head.

"If you do know, then do something about it, Motou. The Astral Realm cannot lose its ruler and the Shadows cannot lose its Pharaoh and neither of you have heirs, but both of you enjoy incredibly dangerous life-styles."

"Oh shut up about the heirs. You sound just like Seth!" Yugi's eyes flared a sudden red, his arm snatched Seto's wrist, twisting in around as his tone deepened.

"Watch yourself, Seth. All things have their own time. I will pass my Shadows on however I so please."

Seto bent closer, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Do not repeat history, your highness, and force me with take your throne."

"You did not take my throne, my nephew took my throne." Yami sneered, "Which I am sure ticked you right off, considering who his father was."

Realizing the wrist he clasped Yami stepped back and Yugi resumed control of the body, his eyes firm as ice as he eyed Seto. "Damn you." He cussed. "Why do you always have to start a fight? Couldn't you just be civil with us for once? Ser, I need painkillers, have you got any?"

Daniel grabbed Yugi as he stumbled back. "Okay, that's it. No more body swapping." He set him down on a chair. "I'll get you some water."

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That scruffy haired, four-eyed, moth-ball smelling was the Daniel Jackson Yugi and Ryou had been so thrilled about—the one they thought held the secret to the whereabouts of the Chappa'i? Seto curled his lips, he was not at all what he had been excepting, and he was sure the feeling was mutual. Leaving Yugi to the care of the American Seto sided up to Malik, studying Serenity as she worked swiftly inserting the drip into Ryou's wrist.

He had never been more relieved for his little wife's nursing degree, it was coming in mighty handy when dealing with his life and the lives of those around him.

"Will the antidote work?" Malik glanced sideway at him.

They had never really got along that well, but they did not need too, they were both leaders of their two civilizations ruled over by a Pharaoh, they just saw each other as kings who payed homage to one leader, they did not need to _like _each other—they only had to get along for the sake of their overlords.

"It has worked in the past. It's the old recipe passed down through generations, I only mass produce it for them. We brought enough blood to last the night as well, he'll be back to normal by morning."

"Normal," Malik whispered, "gods would you look at him…and to think he can survive and go back to normal."

The Tomb Keeper had every right to be cynical. Seto farrowed his brow. Ryou was not a delicate man; he kept himself to a high standard of physique as if it was a matter of pride, but he moved like a ballet dancer, so seeing him torn asunder like a paper doll was sickening to the core.

"How did this happen, Ryou should have sensed something was wrong and moved? Or Bakura?" Serenity looked up at Malik, stepping away from Ryou and checking a bag of blood. Her hands were trembling, Seto mentally cussed. Putting her through this in her condition was cowardly of him but then again, she would have had it no other way.

Joseph was going to murder him when he finally discovered he had married his beloved sister under his nose—and got her pregnant. Avoiding the mutt for as long as he could was still his best tactic for surviving hell on earth.

"The Shadows that protect the Game Shop had retreated to protect Jii-chan," Malik spread his hands, "and they had clammed up entirely to avoid alerting the Illuminati of their presence. Those foul guys can sense a disturbance in the dimensional realms no problem. Believe me, the shot they took at Ryou was out of the blue, it almost knocked me and Yugi out at the same time. I have every bit of confidence that Ryou took the full blast of it on purpose. "

Serenity's eyes went wide. She touched Ryou's arm, giving it a squeeze. "The darling…"

"Ahhh…guys…"

It was the American. Seto turned, spotting him beside Yugi. By the looks of it Yugi had collapsed into an exhausted heap of sleep or pain, whichever it was, he was not fussed, as long as the little pip-squeak had his eyes closed and was resting.

He could not help but smile faintly at the sight as he quickly helped the American by slotting his longer arms under Yugi and carefully lifting him to cradle him as though he were a child. The Pharaoh would not have been overly pleased with this particular picture, but did he give a damn, nope.

He glanced at Malik.

"Let's get Ryou comfortable too, this is going to be a long night looking after him, may as well put him in the bed. Its not like we can damage him at all by moving him."

"Says you who has the cute little guy and I have the carry Count Dracula."

Malik grunted as he hoisted up Ryou. Serenity unhooked the drip-bag, trailing after them both as they took to the stairs. Settling Yugi into the covers Seto stepped back, paused, and reached over, tucking the blanket around him tighter. He peered over at his wife, watching her reattach the blood-bag. She sighed, wiping her forehead as she leant back wearily upon Malik.

"Well. They should sleep for a day or two."

"Good, that'll give us time to figure out what to do." Malik rubbed his chin, picking at the stubble growth.

Seto strung a hand through his hair, anxiously staring at Yugi. He shook his head. How did one keep a treasure safe, other than lock it up?

"That's the problem, Malik. I just do not know what we are going to do. Keeping them busy was good, moving around the world constantly was good, no one ever kept track of them, they were off the grid, but I cannot keep them hidden forever."

"I might have a solution." The American man stood at the threshold of the bedroom door. Seto narrowed his eyes at him. Americans—he had awful business dealings with Americans. They thought they owned the world, although, it did not help that he considered he owned the world too.

Malik took Serenity by the shoulder, leading her around the bed and slowly they exited the room. Seto took once glance back at the bed before easing the door shut and they crept back down into the kitchen. The bodies were gone. Seto nodded in approval. His clean-up team where quick and effective, as usual—yes—they were Duel Monsters, but he was not going to mention his Shadow Powers around Doctor Daniel Jackson. It had taken him years to get used to having Shadow Magic as part of his life, now that he had dealt with it, he liked knowing others found it as baffling as he once had.

The American looked startled at the job well done. Good. He liked that. He could stay that way; the air of mystery had always done him good.

"Your solution?" Seto propped himself up against the kitchen bench. He rested his hands upon the cold surface. "Spill it?"

"Well…they both could….come work for us."

"By _us_, you mean the Airforce." Malik frowned, mirroring Seto's own expression.

"No offence, Daniel, but you have not even told your friends about us yet. How do you know they would even accept—"

"We have taken refugees from other planets and given them new lives here on Earth. Consider it something like that." Daniel spread his hands. "And Yugi can help translate the tablet, and we can collaborate on the Stargate while…we keep them safe. I mean, apparently they're both…important." He looked mildly confused. Seto rolled his eyes. Idiot. He had no idea what he was dealing with. No idea what he had been given witness to through Yugi and Ryou.

Although…now that he thought about it, this would be the perfect opportunity to have a foot into the American Airforce.

This he could use.

Yes.

He could use this.

"Alright…I can see this working. If I can create new identities for them both. Ryou will not be happy, but he will deal with it. You, American, call your people. Make it so. If they are incompliant, I shall discuss it with your President."

"Ohhh, Seto." Serenity folded her arms across her chest. "Tisk, tisk. The last time you called him you almost scared the man to death."

"What? I just said I wanted to test my asteroid mining system. I was giving him fair warning that I was doing it. Space is free, I can blast my rockets into it if I want too." He pulled a face.

She gave a long groan. "I cannot believe I married you, Seto Kaiba."

"Woman, I was born to rule the galaxy, you married me because you wanted to be a queen."

She waved a hand in defeat, "I rest my case."

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It was Yami's tender emotional touch that drew Yugi gradually back between the folds of interwoven shadows. No matter how comforting the embrace of the earthy darkness was, nothing was more welcome than the warmth of his other half, the scent of his hot desert musk. Leaving behind the healing cocoon of the Shadow Realm Yugi breathed a full breath, allowing his lips to split wide, tasting the cologne in his room—it was Ryou's expensive fragrance, that one which made his nose itch.

Yugi crinkled his brow, curling in the bed covers. The weight of the heavy feather down quilt was a delighted extra protection on his sore, bruised skin. Gingerly he drew out an arm, feeling around and finding the light switch just above the bed.

The light crackled faintly as it buzzed on, revealing his old room. The much larger king bed made it look so much smaller than it had once been to him as a teenager. Someone had drawn the curtain over the window ceiling, blocking out all light from the outside world. Yugi scratched his burning shoulders. Yami must have wanted to make sure only the shadows could enter, to heal him as he slumbered—and to heal Ryou.

Yugi puffed out his cheeks, sitting upright wearily. Ryou was staring at the ceiling blankly, obviously wide awake.

"Morning." Yugi bit out the word, threading a hand through his frazzled hair. He had the mightiest of hangovers, it was just a pity he had not actually had any alcohol to have achieved the hyped result.

Ryou released a hiss as he eased up. The Ring dangled loosely over his bare chest and he clutched at it for support, breathing in a sharp intake of breath. Yugi rubbed a hand over his bare arm, feeling the energy between their apposing light forces react with an electric cosmic charge as the two Items sent static between each other. He was so glad to see his friend unharmed, when he could clearly recall his wounds.

"I didn't kill anyone did I?" Ryou choked.

Yugi pursed his lips. "Always your first concern, never for yourself."

"Lord, Yugi…" Ryou bent his head between his legs, rocking back and forth. "If I killed someone because those Illuminati fools shot me then…then…"

Lifting himself off his pillows Yugi quickly wrapped his fellow light in a tight embrace. "Ryou, you didn't! Hey, hey…you are a Light, you do not go around killing people. It is not in your nature. Besides," he brushed his friends back, "the rules of our bromance states you're allowed to drink my blood if ever the need arises. If yesterday became the dire situation of life and death, I would have just been your donor. Problem solved. Once again, Yugi Motou saves the day."

Ryou flopped back.

"I hate you."

"I know." Yugi smirked.

A polite tap on the door ended the playful barter. Yugi cocked his head, watching as the door eased open slightly and Serenity poked her head between the gap. Joey's endearing little sister had one of those face's that could set sail a thousand ships, and a smile of a tiny humming bird. She held out two glasses of aspirin.

"You're a goddess, Ser." Yugi waved her in. She stepped past the slinking shadows, kicking them away with her bare feet. They hissed, slinking under the bed as though they were berated snakes. It was amazing how much she did not bother with them. Any other woman Yugi was sure would have been rather put off by their merry band of horrors—a bit like Tea—but not Ser, never Ser, she was Seto's wife (not that Joey actually knew they had tied the knot yet, and Yugi was going to be sure he was far away, hopefully on another continent when that news broke) and dealt with more crazy than most upstanding ladies. It was not a coincidence of the universe that she happened to look rather like the human embodiment of the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

Yugi accepted the glasses she held, passing one to Ryou.

He drowned his own, wincing at the bitter taste of the medicine before setting the glass aside on the bedside table. Serenity made to sit on the bed, pausing for a moment. She narrowed her eyes at them both.

"You're not naked are you? Didn't kick off your boxers during the night like Mokuba does?"

Yugi pouted. "Ohhh, good question." He pulled the quilt up dramatically. "Nope, Ser, you are safe." He grinned. "We are not going commando."

She raised an eyebrow, propping a hand on her hip. "That indicates, Yugi, that sometimes you do."

"Hey, Ryou has a nice butt. Someone really needs to make a sculpture of it."

Ryou slammed a pillow into his face. Yugi squeaked, floundering in the bed as he was ruthlessly smothered by the far heavier man. "You despicable mongrel! I will rip your tongue from your mouth!"

He heard Serenity's merriment over the scene and felt her weight on the bed as she joined the pillow fight that ensued, but it was only until he fell off the bed and found himself looking directly up into Yami's red eyes that he realized he was hurting terribly and his arms felt like they were going to fall off. A pillow fight, no matter how awfully fun, might not have been the best idea in his current state.

Yami picked him up. "Aibou, what am I ever going to do with you?"

Yugi grimaced, watching as Ryou was gathered up by Seto. Being brushed off by him and given a firm tongue lashing as well as an inspection. He frowned, realizing Bakura must not have come free of the Ring yet, while Yami had partly formed a physical body once more, Bakura must not have had the chance to regenerate his shadow magic after keeping Ryou stable for so long.

He was set on his feet and Yami gave his backside a small slap of reprimand. "Get dressed and come down stairs for breakfast. We're having a chat with Daniel. He wants some answers. Do not move your arms around! Keep them level." The spirit vanished in a swell of shadows.

Seto strolled past, pointing a long finger under his nose in warning. "Don't make me come back up here."

Yugi stuck out his tongue at Seto's departure, the tycoon wrapping his arm around Serenity and leading her down the passage. A shirt was flung at his face and he caught it, smelling Ryou's cologne as he pulled it over his head. He would never get over how much he loved his friend's richer taste in fabric.

Ryou was quickly braiding his tail of uncombed hair, "Do you think Daniel will hate me now? They must have told him what I am…"

"He is a very accepting guy, Ryou. It'll be fine." Yugi tugged on pants. He propped open the door with a foot, catching the brush Ryou threw him as he hopped out into the corridor. For a moment he contemplated the act of trying to put the brush through his hair before a shower.

"Aww, heck," he peered up at Ryou, "please tell me I at least look like I was in a fight with ten armed men and won?"

"Depends, were they Hobbits like you?"

Yugi kicked Ryou sharply in the shin. "Shut up!"

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Daniel looked up as Yugi and Ryou crept into the kitchen and living courters of the Game Shop. His eyes stayed glued to Ryou. He could not believe the Count was up and about on his feet, not a single scratch on him.

He looked exhausted though, the damage had taken out a considerable amount of wear on him and that was obvious even in his slow strides to the table. Yugi was far better for his wounds, bouncing on his heels like a kid with far too much caffeine.

"How long did we sleep?" Ryou scrubbed a hand through his unruly locks.

"About two days." Seto called from the kitchen.

Ryou grumbled under his breath a foul cuss, apparently Bakura was well aware of what was going on around them was content to make his presence known as well.

Yami pulled out a chair and Ryou collapsed into it, giving a nod of thanks. He studied the bandage on his wrist, "Serenity's work I'm guessing, how many bags of blood did I go through?"

"Ten," Seto's allusive voice once more rung out.

Ryou's face contorted. Yami's hand rested on his shoulder. "You were in bad shape Ryou, the silver was entirely through your system. We're lucky the antidote worked."

"Tomb Keeper, will you stop trying to ruin the breakfast with your grubby fingers. Get the hell out of the kitchen!" Seto's bellow echoed and Malik appeared, making a quick exist over the top of the counter as the business-man rounded the corner.

"I was just adding some spices." Malik spread his hands.

"It doesn't need your voodoo! Motou, sit down."

Quickly Yugi slid into a chair beside Daniel. "Where is Jii-chan?"

Seto placed the tray of eggs and bacon upon the table, his dark scowl easing slightly.

"He's out with Serenity and Tutankhamen, they're going crib shopping or something."

"Ahhh, the baby. Still haven't told Joey about that one," Yugi said.

"Still not intending on telling the Mutt about that one."

"But you have not even told him you married her." Ryou unrolled a napkin.

"Still not intending on telling the Mutt that either." Seto sat down with an undignified huff.

"Said Mutt is going to come and bite your fat rich butt off." Malik waggled a fork in the air.

"Could we just stop for a minute and all relish in the fact that Seto is going to be a father." Yugi held out his hands. "Come on…I mean, isn't that just adorable."

"Will you stuff your face with my food Motou."

Yugi flashed him a grin, "And he even cooked for us, this is just getting better by the minute."

Daniel stared down at his plate, still feeling like eating was beyond question. Ryou was sitting across from him sipping tea, looking none the worst for his ordeal and all he could remember was the young man spitting bullets and blood.

Slowly Ryou set aside his tea cup and peered over his glasses, settling him with a contemplative stare.

"I suppose I gave you a bit of a fright."

Daniel nibbled on toast. It was not so bad as a fright really. He had pulled iron rods out of Yugi, so, he must have been getting used to the whole ordeal, and he had watched Malik who was perched next to him lop a head clean off. When had he stopped becoming freaked out by these kinds of things, was he becoming hardened and jaded.

Yugi's hand reached across the table, grasping his tightly.

"Never, Daniel." The young man smiled sadly, "You are the last person who would become jaded. Your eyes are as clean as they get."

Malik ribbed him playfully with an elbow, "Other than Yugi."

"Shut up Malik." Yugi rolled his eyes.

The Tomb Keeper stood, giving a long stretch. "I'm borrowing your shower. Thanks for breakfast, Seto." He ruffled Daniel's hair. "Now don't faint when you learn all about the secrets of the universe."

He strolled off, vanishing up the stairs.

Seto stood, gathering up the plates. He gave Yugi a small motion and the young man eased carefully onto his feet, Yami's shadow filling out behind him into a semi-solid state to aid him as he took some of the dishes.

Daniel realized he was suddenly alone with Ryou. He awkwardly glanced around the living room.

"You're not going to ask me what I am? I figure it must be grating at you by now."

"It would be rude," Daniel whispered.

Ryou shook his head. He folded his hands neatly together. "We're called Methuselahs…and we used to refer to your kind as Terrans. We are a very ancient race, far older than the Goa'uld's dominion in this galaxy, but our beginnings are humble. We were created by Terran's to survive the harshness of space, a long time ago, in another era."

"Methuselah, after the oldest living human." Daniel laughed softly. "And Terrans, because Earth is sometimes called Terra."

Ryou nodded, "Very good." He rested his chin on his clasped hands, "The founder of our civilization, The New Human Empire – or The Methuselah Empire – or…an I rather liked this one – The Empire of the True Race, in its old form was created by the Empress, Augusta Vradica, the First and Only, our Mother, however as our population dwindled and the Old Terran civilization out-matched us eventually the two became one in the form of the union between a Human, Ester Blanchett and a Methuselah, Earl Ion Fortuna, they became Queen and King of Albion, the first of the Pendragons. Albion eventually became Avalon and Avalon eventually became what we call today our England…"

Ryou leaned back in his chair, "I am a direct descendent of Ester and Ion. The sword Excalibur once belonged to Earl Ion, as he was the Empress' Swords Keeper and it is one of the few relics from that ancient era."

Daniel rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That doesn't make sense, if your race was so powerful, you couldn't have just rolled over and faded into oblivion. No offence Ryou, but you called yourself the True Race, you sound like you have an ego."

"Oh, we did…still do." Ryou scratched his chin, "It is a very complicated story but it involves the death of our Empress, a spaceship called _Ark _and the Vatican using nuclear weapons to destroy a couple of our cities. You have to understand, Daniel, this…was a very long time ago, in a time before your history even begins. When I am talking about the Vatican, I am talking about one that predates every ancient civilization on this planet that you know of, so not the same Vatican as today. The war between the Methuselah and the Terran's that ensued caused a nuclear winter, and only the peace brought on by the union of Ester and Ion allowed Humanity to survive. When that Ice Age ended…Earth was an entirely new world. Humanity began again, and we Methuselah, too little in number now, became the guiders and protectors of what we saw as our children and our creators."

"How do you know all this if no one else recalls it?"

Ryou scrubbed a hand through his hair, leaning back in his chair, "The bacterium rather has an ancestral memory of sorts. It also has enough of an emotional influence as well to feel offended or insulted by things that I honestly would not naturally feel any vibe toward for example, you will notice that I avoid Catholic churches still. Goodness knows why," Ryou raised an eyebrow, "I prefer being nondenominational."

"You can't be nondenominational Ryou, if you avoid one." Yugi poked his head around the kitchen door.

"They blew up three cities; those cities had Terrans in them as well, not just Methuselahs! It is bad form."

"Pastor Mark said you're not supposed to hold grudges, and it was eons ago! Sheesh!"

Ryou tilted his chin in an aristocratic gesture, "I do not hold the grudge, the bacterium in my blood is holding it. I have utterly nothing to do with it."

"That's cheating!"

"Oh do be quiet Yugi." Ryou flapped a hand in the air.

Daniel shook his head. It was slowly making sense. "So…how do you survive then, I cannot imagine you actually…well you don't—"

"Do I actually consume human blood?" Ryou rolled his eyes. "Did they tell you I'm a vampire? Hmm, typical, they like rubbing that one in whenever they can." He bent forward, flashing a grin, revealing a fanged leer.

Daniel cringed back.

"You do not have teeth like these for nothing." Ryou offered, "They come out when the bacteria is provoked, it starts multiplying inside the body, and its incredibly painful. The only way to stop it is get more blood."

Daniel motioned to the bandage around Ryou's arm. "The drip?"

"One of the easier ways if I am unconscious." Ryou smiled, "I think there's been only one occasion when Yugi's been kind enough to donate so I would not die. If you look closely, you can see the scars on his neck. It was not a good week in the least. One neither of us will forget, I can tell you that, though…you do bond when you almost die together I suppose." He reached into the pockets of his jeans and placed a container of pills upon the table. Daniel stared at it. He had seen the Count take them often, almost every evening meal he had known him.

Ryou tapped the lid, "These tablets are a synthesized blood replacement, not as good as the real deal, but it stops my anemia getting to unbearable levels. Seto's company supplies my kind with them now; he also makes the antidote to silver poisoning."

"An alien bacteria." Daniel shook his head. "Amazing, I know a doctor who would be fascinated to know you."

Ryou chuckled, "Oh, I am sure! It is very complicated, but that is the basics of it for you to digest for now." The light shrugged, giving his tea a sip. "I am awfully sorry for giving you such a fright, Daniel."

Startled at the sincere apology Daniel flinched. He sat back in his chair, stumped.

"No, no! Please. You were the one shot full of bullets only yesterday." He waved his hands, looking to Yugi as he reentered the living room and passed him a refill of coffee. "And you were hit by…something…I should be apologizing that your lives are so…well, nuts."

"We can handle it." Yugi touched the Puzzle, giving a fond smile. "Poor Yami though, I'm working him hard with all this walking about." He quickly sat down, hugging his hot drink with a grin, gulping down what looked like more painkillers. "So, have you told Daniel about the sunlight thing yet?"

Daniel's eyes widened. That was real; the vampire legend of sunlight was real too. He grinned, turning to Ryou.

"Sunlight, are you…effected by sunlight as well?"

Ryou laughed and Daniel felt oddly stumped at the look of amusement across his features.

"The myths are correct. We are affected by sunlight yes, though we do not burn up and go puff into ash, sunlight is one of the triggers that activates and agitates the bacteria within our blood, like silver." He glanced down at his pale skin. "Being albino is a fluke of nature, but it is a good excuse for not going out in the sun so much, however…" Ryou held up his left wrist, revealing the golden piece of jewelry hanging there. His bangle, the one he fiddled with constantly. Daniel raised an eyebrow at the odd piece of gold, the only other piece of jewelry he wore other than the Ring itself and a band on his finger that he now figured might had been a ring that somehow connected him to the Pendragon family—but that was only his working theory after the download glob of information he had just been slapped with.

"This is a piece of technology my people developed a long, long time ago. It is a personal particle shield that deflects radiation. It allows me to walk out and about in daylight without feeling the effects of ultraviolet radiation. According to documents…our great Empire once had a massive shield that filtered out the sun's light…the country was in eternal dusk."

From the look in the Count's eyes Daniel was sure he was dreaming of what such a sight would have looked like.

"So, kids," Malik appeared at the doorway from the upper-level, a bag slung over his shoulder, "I have to go, I'm already a bit late for picking up Tut and…ah…getting back for a Council Meeting." He touched Ryou's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

"I'll see you both when I get the chance. You keep him safe, Bakura."

Ryou smiled, "Thank you Malik." He clasped Malik's hand. "Have a safe trip home."

"You betcha!"

"Malik, be careful of that fellow, what's-his-face-Maybourne, he means business. I've been having trouble with him lately. He could be snooping around." Seto's head appeared around the kitchen door. The full length of his body followed as he strolled out, drying off his hands on a towel. He slung it over his shoulder as he sat down beside Yugi, giving Malik small wave.

Malik inclined his head. "Thanks for the pre-warning Seto."

He left with a backhanded wave, footsteps barely audible upon the stairs down into the Game Shop.

Daniel had to wonder where the mysterious Egyptian was going? Taking a flight back to Egypt? Did he have a hotel room in Domino where he had stored all his gear? Come to think of it, out of all the people around the table, it was Malik who he knew the least about. Maybe that was for the best.

"So," Seto clasped his hands together, setting them upon the table. "Daniel had an idea…" He looked to Yugi and Ryou, "about hiding you both in plain sight, but it will require some changes if it goes ahead."

Ryou groaned.

Yugi eased forward in his chair. "Let me guess, moving to America? Seto, I was kind of already intending on doing so to work with Daniel on the tablet he found, to find the Truth-gods and their Cities of Dawn."

"But I am talking about changing your identities, at least in the circles you currently run in. Neither of you have been to America nor had reason to before, it's a safe place for now. The Stargate being there gives us a great opportunity to liaison with the Airforce and join forces against the Goa'uld while also keeping the two of you safe. I don't feel like having two angry spirits haunting me for the rest of my days, and Yugi, you're the key to my immortality, so…I'm saving my own skin here."

"Sure you are." Yugi rolled his eyes.

"And Ryou, the Astral Realm is a vital part of the planets ecosystem, and you are its ruler. As part of this planets protective sphere, I must keep you safe."

"Oh stop sounding like one of the Knights of the Round Table," Ryou grumbled.

"Ciel is welcome to file a complaint if he thinks I am doing his job." Seto leaned back in his chair, wearing a lazy grin.

"You just want us out of your hair." Yugi pouted. He glanced behind him at Yami's shadow, "To become someone else's problem." Though he was glad the spirit was back in his semi-physical form again, he could still feel the stinging sensation of the hex and the burn it had created between them as it had ripped the bond of the Puzzle. Their soul's resonance would suffer for a while from the pain of being so ruthlessly barred from each other but still connected by the thinnest of threads. It was awful, the worst kind of punishment he could ever endure, or inflict upon Yami and the dreadful agony he could sense from his dear darkness was evidence enough to know the king had suffered being far from his Light.

"You are never a problem Yugi." Yami shook his head.

"Tell that to the person who cleans up your mess." Seto snorted.

"Shut up, slime-ball." Ryou snapped, his tenor darkening as he bent forward, eyes narrowed in slits of black shadows that seeped thick liquid. Yugi reached for his hand, knowing full well who it was behind the veil of his friend. Bakura might not have had enough zest in him to appear out of the Ring, but he had enough to wake up and control his host.

Ryou breathed out deeply. Regaining control he twisted his hand around, gripping Yugi's in reply.

"If you think it will throw the Illuminati off our tail then I suppose I could bother with the inconvenience of it all. It…it would be better than being stuck in the manor again, wasting away like a damsel in a tower." He rubbed his golden wrist band.

"Oh come on, Ryou, you've always wanted to visit another of the colonies." Yugi chuckled. "You might even meet a woman."

"How is that supposed to make me want to go to America?"

"Well, you haven't had any luck here, or in England, or in Egypt…let's try America." Yugi grinned at Daniel playfully. "We've got to get him hitched!"

"You are utter nonsense, Yugi Motou." Ryou pouted.

"I am perfection." Yugi fanned himself. "Seto agrees with me, don't you Seto."

The business man glanced down at him, "My wife is not here, I do not need to do anything."

"You've been acting like a house-wife all morning; whatever Serenity has done to you…I'm impressed." Yugi poked his cheek.

"When you get to America, stay there." Seto held a finger under Yugi's nose. "So I can finally get some peace."

"Well, I've already called my team." Daniel bowed his head. "They'll be here in a week or so."

"Should be enough time for me to get a decent wardrobe change?" Yugi pouted at the oversized shirt he wore, picking at it thoughtfully.

Seto upturned his chin and Yugi blinked as a bank card was flung at him. "Please, do us all a favor, Motou, and get your fashion sense back."

Yugi snatched up the bank card, "I'm going to go die my hair so I'm inconspicuous."

He paused, giving a groan as he lifted himself out his chair. "Ouch…"

Seto sighed heavily. He stood, hoisting Yugi off his feet. "Come on pip-squeak, you are a waste of my time but the sooner we get all of this done and dusted the sooner I can get back to what I do for a living."

"Remind me what that actually is again?" Yugi punched him hard in the chest.

"Shut up."

Daniel watched them leave. He looked toward Ryou, who was reaching for the morning paper.

"Are they like that all the time?"

"Seto and Yugi, oh yes…they're the equivalent of arch-rivals who turned into brothers. We're a rather odd family, with Jii-chan up the top slapping our backsides whenever we step out of line." He chuckled.

He had to admit, it did rather remind him a little of himself and Jack in some way and how he knew that without a doubt Jack would really go the extra mile for him. Jack was like the brother he had never had, though the man never would dare say it out loud—the thought was there, somewhere, hidden away deep inside.

Ryou was playing with the paper, looking a little abashed.

"I am sorry for not telling you about my…my…condition…Daniel. I just…it is a very…"

Daniel waved a hand, cutting Ryou off. "Ryou, your entire chest was blown away and you survived. I swear I was going mad when you landed on the bottom of the stairs and you got up and spat blood everywhere. You know what, I honestly really don't mind." He flashed a grin, "You have alien baterica in your blood that makes you almost invincible but it awakens to sunlight and sliver…to be honest, when you think about it logically…it's not really the oddest, craziest thing out there."

He shrugged, pulling on his coat. "And besides, you've got medication to keep it under check, like…some kind of chronic illness. If you were any other person who didn't have a split soul, you know, I'm just going to think of you as having a really extreme cause of diabetes."

Ryou pursed his lips, "Hmmm…I suppose that is one way to look at it."

Daniel smiled, placing a hand upon Ryou's shoulder. "We'll take it from there shall we?"

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Jack sauntered his way through the SGC, whistling a tune. He could not have been in a better mood. Daniel had finally got back to them. It was about damn time too. He had started to wonder just what had been going on with their resident archeologist, zipping away like that out of the blue—to think he had ended up in Japan of all places—Japan?

He rolled his eyes. Typical of the geek, making him chase him all over the place, making him worry. The idiot. He heard a shout and craned his head about, spotting the Captain as she ran down the corridor, her puff of gold hair frazzled and unkept. Yeah, so she wanted to be called a woman, but she really needed to do some womanly things around the base, like actually look after her hair when she slept face down her desk.

He brushed that thought aside, smirking inwardly at himself. Whatever, Samantha Carter could be anything she wanted and all he was going to hear coming out of her lovely mouth was total and utter jibberish half the time. He did trust her jibberish though, that was a bonus.

"Colonel, are you heading to the briefing room?"

"Yup." He swung his hand in a motion.

"Good. I am so glad Daniel called. I was starting to worry. It sounds like he has really found something, don't you think?"

She was doing it again, fishing for answers from him.

"Hope so."

They rounded the corner and clomped up the stairs from the control-room into the briefing room. Teal'c was waiting for them, already seated and at their arrival Genera Hammond rose from the chair in his office and entered into the briefing room.

Sam snapped to attention. Jack did not bother. He collapsed into the nearest chair, swinging about boyishly.

General Hammond inclined his head to Sam. "Captain."

Sam sat at the table.

Hammond gave them a once over. "I guess you all know why you're here."

"DanielJackson has reported in," Teal'c offered.

"Indeed he has." Hammond nodded. "His report was rather enlightening. I was a bit disappointed to hear he smuggled out one of the artifacts you brought home with you, but…I am going to let it slide…for now."

Jack cringed at that. Yeah. Daniel did not have the best sense of judgment when it came to not stealing the super awesome things from other planets that were supposed to be under lock and key. Oh well. That was Daniel.

"He has requested that you meet him in Japan. He has met with some…rather interesting young men, to say the least."

"They claim to know of the Goa'uld." Sam's eyes were dazzling, she looked far too happy about this whole thing, Jack figured. "And to have technology that predates their arrival here on Earth, and knowledge of how we could defeat them. That's a lot more than what Daniel could have hoped for."

"Danny said space-guns, I think that's enough of a reason for me." Jack clicked his fingers, making a little weapon and firing into space with bullet sounds. He noted the Lieutenant's eye roll at his childish gestures.

"Your thoughts Teal'c?" The General turned his attention to the Jaffa.

Teal'c's expression did not change, well, most folk would not notice it, but he was not most folks. Jack prided himself in his ability to catch the subtle changes in the stoic warrior's features as he spoke, those brief little micro expressions were what made Teal'c so unique.

"DoctorJackson spoke of the Nameless One. This I know. There is a story told amongst the Jaffa, a tale told to children as they are sent to bed—it is a story that was first told within the Humans of the outer-worlds but the Jaffa also began to tell it as hope too. It speaks of the Great Tau'ri Leader who fought with the Goa'uld and won. It is now I came to know of your world and knew I could trust you, for you came from the world of the Nameless Shadow."

"Nameless Shadow?" Jack snorted, "What?"

"That is the name of the legend; the Nameless One. For the very whisper of his name could bring a Goa'uld to their knees it was said."

"Sounds like our kinda guy." Jack glanced at the General. It was always hard to tell what the old man was thinking, even he, who usually could tell what most people were thinking by reading their funny facial expressions, never quite caught the Generals. He had to wonder if it was because the old guy was just that good at hiding it because of all his years in the service or if he just had a blank face.

Or maybe…maybe the General just made sure never to show anything when around him—yeah, that could have worked, Hammond would have been that sneaky and just that good.

"I thought so too." Hammond inclined his head, "Doctor Jackson believes the young men he's come in contact with need our help, he also believes they in turn will be of great help to us in our endeavors. I want you three to go to Japan and see if you think Doctor Jackson assessment of this situation is indeed to our favor. If so, then I'll be making the arrangements for these young men to have asylum here."

"Asylum." Sam whispered, "They're in danger?"

"From the sounds of it, yes."

"And they think we can protect them?" Jack grumbled, "What are we, a nanny service."

Hammond shook his head, "According to Doctor Jackson the information they have regarding the Goa'uld will be well worth the baby-sitting job."

"Two words; space-guns." Jack highlighted the words with quotation marks.

"Well SG1, pack your bags…" General Hammond eased to his feet, "You're going on vacation to Japan. Teal'c you have been issued with a passport and all the right credentials for travel, your plane leaves tomorrow evening."

"Sweet!" Jack clapped his hands on the table, "T-man, it's time for you to see some of this fair planet."

The Jaffa raised an eyebrow, "This Japan, is it far away? Do we travel by Stargate…?"

Sam gave a long sigh. "I wish."

She had a mighty fine point about that. It was rather amusing that they could travel thousands of light-years across the galaxy to distant planets in mere seconds and it still took hours on a plane to reach the other side of their own globe. Jack gave a groan. Planes. Great. This was going to be interesting, a plane flight with Teal'c and Samantha Carter—team bonding time at its finest.

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_So, I can recommend the anime, manga and the short novels of Trinity Blood. I've only watched the anime and read the manga—I have not had the chance to read the short-novels because I cannot get a hold of them but I've pretty much read up all about their plots XD Cause I do that. Trinity Blood is one of my favorite 'vampire' stories, because it added in a bit of science fiction elements to the whole vampire mythology and I thought that was pretty cool, while keeping the vampires as what we expect vampires to be (not sparkly)_

_I have taken a bit of creative fanfiction author license to fit it in with this fanfiction but hopefully those who do know Trinity Blood won't be too disappointed with my muddling about. I thought Ryou deserved some really interesting back-story and this fitted in perfectly with the way the novel was going. Ryou and Bakura are actually really fascinating characters to use, they have a lot of charisma about them when crafted right, so I thought it would be a wonderful challenge to have Ryou, who is naturally a really charming gentleman be something that is the total opposite to his human-nature, that is actually more in line with what Bakura is. _

_Also, this eventually ties in with the future Starwars arc, so…do keep it in mind ;) _

_And yes, Yugi and Yami are sensitive against magic—that's a set up for the Harry Potter arc too…_

_By the way, the bacteria not allowing Ryou to walk into a Catholic church is supposed to be amusing later on because Samantha Carter is Catholic, (I actually research these things) so he eventually has to get over it. Just a bit of character building fun :D I love that kind of stuff—makes them more real._

_Hope you enjoyed the episode! Catch you next time :D _

_Keep well,_

_KL_


	6. GoDR Episode 5 - Reincarnation

_Hey dearest Readers!  
Firstly I would love to say hello to all the new readers of this story. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for joining the reading of this tale. I am incredibly grateful to you for taking the time out of your day to read my work despite what I know to be tiresome mistakes on my part ^^; _

_I am deeply honored by each and every one of you. THANK YOU!_

_And to those who continue to stick with me, gosh guys, you're the best. Honestly. THE BEST!_

_Secondly,_

_Deepest apologies for not having updated *anything* for such a long length of time – I have been trying to finish an illustrating job, while handling my illness, my novel and general life. Thankfully, that illustrating job will soon come to an end and I will be writing full time! Just writing, as is my main job – two novels, both need to be done by the end of this year, and these fanfictions. The aim is to have a chapter out per-week, come rain or shine. _

_Thus I am really pushing to get this illustrating job done, because I'm really looking forward to getting the chance to focus on my writing full-time, to be able to really commit myself again. _

_I'm so frightened of my future, when I look at it I always just see my illness and never a way out of it but my writing to me is my way out of it. My Dad always tell me to make sure I update my fanfiction, lol, so you guys have him on your side! He knows how much I love writing fanfiction XD Which I really do. It keeps me writing._

_And for an author, there is one major key – just keep writing. _

_There is still no word from my publisher about a date for KEY, my novel, the cover-artist still hasn't finished the front cover. That is seriously all that is holding things up, I think. I hope. The chances are I will start uploading some of my original work up, either on Tumblr, or on fanfiction's sister-site. So either way, you're going to be getting more writing from me somehow. XD_

_I hope that you all enjoy this update. Again, sorry for the delay. _

_There is a bit of slow-reveal backstory in this, I imagine folks are either going to like it…or not...I've wanted to play around with a few of the ideas presented in both Stargate and Yugioh for a while, and this, for sure, has a bit of a darker tone due to 'war—doom—child-abuse—etc' so forewarning. I simply wanted to give Bakura/Yami a far more board backstory to their setting in the Millennium World Era – as it slowly begins to become referred to in this series – as to fit it in with the Goa'uld being a pretty difficult bunch to deal with and what they experienced back then still echoes through Yugi and Ryou today. As, technically, I feel it would have some kind of ripple effect, until as a pair the dark and light learn to balance each other out, which their adventures allow them to do. Right now, they're still really raw and young. _

_I also really wanted to give Yugi and Yami something bitterly difficult to work through as a couple. Why, do you ask? Because as characters, their strengths come through far more when they're faced with something internal that they have to overcome personally. When I was doing my research at the library for this fanfiction, I was coming across a lot of things about how the family networks of the Palace's might have worked and so on and so forth – so I rather liked the idea that Yami/Atemu might not have been 'the-chosen-one' for the Throne in the eyes of the council, his uncle and father (for example) but possibly instead, through events that transpired in his childhood, the Truth-gods decided he was the leader to fight for Earth—or something like that, I don't know. I just had this whole idea of this family network, and Atemu was a tiny part of it, and slowly he wound his way to the position of Pharaoh (possibly much to Seth, and his Uncles,) horror. _

_So yeah, those are some of my thoughts. I would love to go and someday write the backstory I have for this fanfiction, maybe I might do a Time Travel arc in which SG1 stumbles back in time, that'd be hilarious. They could mess up the time-line! Whoops. Ruin everything guys…just great. _

_Anyway. See what you think. I hope you do enjoy the tale that is being spun. I am enjoying writing it, that is for sure. _

_I honestly believe that there is so much richness in these characters, a lot to explore, a lot to discover. It's a true honor to be able to write with them for you all. Thank you for reading and allowing me to entertain you._

_Keep well._

_*hugs*_

_KL_

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**Episode 5: Reincarnation**

Sam had to admit, the flight to Japan had been interesting, to say the least—having the Colonel and Teal'c as companions for something other than military jaunts to distant planets was a new experience entirely. She felt exhausted, more exhausted than she wanted to admit. Flying seemed to always take it out of her, the dashing around airports, interchanging flights, sitting for such long hours and now fighting to find her luggage. It was just overwhelming bothersome, when she was so used to stepping through a worm-hole and travelling millions of light-years in mere seconds.

It did not help that here in this foreign country she felt more like an alien than she ever did on another planet.

Pushing her way through a group of bustling business-men Sam reached for her baggage, surprised when her hand was intersected halfway by a tall man wearing a gray shirt and brown dusty jeans. He brushed up beside her and grabbed her suitcase, easily hoisting it off the conveyer belt. Her surprise must have been evident upon her features for she heard him chuckle, at least she thought so, she was trying not to be too caught up at the sight of him. Amongst the patrons of the airport he just looked rather out of place, as though he had stepped right out of a historical drama, no, not a historical drama—Sam nibbled her bottom lip—he looked as though he had just wandered right out of Pride and Prejudice, her own personal Mr. Darcy for the modern age.

His long hair, tied back tight in a pony-tail, was flaxen white but it was the cheer in his pale brown eyes that caught her gaze—they held such merriment and genuine jovialness, as if he had been her friend for years. Right, not Mr. Darcy…

"Greetings, I am Lord Ryou Bakura. Doctor Daniel Jackson sent me to fetch you. He said you might have trouble finding your way around."

A Lord—this man was a Lord?

Maybe she should correct her Mr. Darcy assumption again. Saliva dried in her throat, her mouth was raw. What was she, a school girl?

"A…I'm…a…Doctor Samantha Carter." She was not going to act all military like in front of this man, was she? He honestly looked like he had just dusted himself off an old library shelf to come and fetch her.

"Pleasure to finally meet you." Ryou smiled, taking her hand. His fingers had rough blemishes, telling of labor. Their tips had been worn. He kissed her hand lightly. The action would have usually caused a negative response and she would have jerked her hand free, but his grasp was strong and his gaze frightfully transfixing. Sam breathed out a tight breath, it slipped easily between her lips before she was even aware of it. What a cool, fresh air the man carried around him, just like an autumn breeze speaking of the coming winter. She shivered.

A snaked smile crept over his lips. "Your reputation precedes you, Dr. Carter."

"Please, just…ah…Sam." She gulped out.

"Well, then Sam, everyone just calls me Ryou."

Ryou—yes—she could call him that.

"What is this?" The Colonel stirred her from her thoughts. Damn him. Sam twisted slightly, spotting him trotting up with Teal'c in tow. As usual Jack looked as unabashed and appallingly unprepared for anything, just how she liked him she supposed. She shook that thought out of her head, thinking hard about the chocolate eyes of the Lord beside her. This mission was important, she had to remain focused. By the sounds of it Daniel was excited by something and even if she had not known Doctor Jackson all that long, she had come to understand something about him—he did not get excited for no good reason.

"Colonel…this is Lord Ryou Bakura. Daniel sent him."

He was not even thrown off by Jack's foul look. He held out his free hand in welcome, gracing the Colonel with a pleasant smile.

"You must be Colonel O'Neill. Daniel speaks very fondly of you."

"I bet he does." Jack took the hand, giving it a light shake. "That's Teal'c." He motioned to the Jaffa Warrior standing a foot behind him. Ryou waved cheerfully.

"Why yes, it must be. Hello Teal'c, it is an honor."

Sam was positive she caught a small flinch in the perfect mask of the beautiful features of the lord. He glanced briefly to her, his smile momentarily sad. It flickered away as he propped a hand on his hip.

"Welcome to Japan. I hope you've all had a good trip."

Jack scratched his chin, "You're not Japanese." He took a quick glance around the luggage bay.

"Well, my family has had its roots in Japan since the British colony days. We've been traders and archaeologists for generations, lovers of adventure and what-not." He chuckled at a private joke, "But I am a born and bred English gentleman if ever there was one."

"You're English?" Jack stated.

Leave it to the Colonel to state the obvious. Did not the man sound as English as they came? She had thought it rather fascinating also to hear such a rich accent amongst the sounds of Japanese voices echoing throughout the large arrival lounge.

"Yes, I just said so." The lord frowned faintly.

"So where is Danny?"

Sam resisted the desire to slap her forehead in despair at the Colonel's starkness. Could he not just try to be tactful, just once? Did he do it on purpose? Maybe he did—after all, it did seem to work for him.

"Doctor Jackson is with one of my friends, they are parking the car. If you would gather the rest of your luggage and follow me I will guide you to him."

"How do we know if we can trust you?"

"Good question, sir." The young man replied, "Daniel told me to tell you the Arbedos Gate is open."

The Colonel's eyes narrowed at the lord. Teal'c shuffled. For a moment Sam watched as the lord's attention moved to Teal'c and she could have sworn that his entire body tensed into the action for attack. It was gone in a split second as the Colonel spoke.

"Well…_that_ is interesting."

Ryou looked at them with a thoughtful tip of his head. "Interesting is what we thought about Daniel knowing about it…now there is a whole bunch of you." He raised his eyebrows.

Once again his eyes captivated Sam, she could have sworn they glittered yellow. There was age in them. That was why it was so hard to gauge his age—his body might have looked young, but behind the shine of the liquid gloss of his pupils was something unscientific that she wanted nothing more to sink her analytical mind into.

He winked at her suddenly. She stirred, realizing that Jack and Teal'c had waddled off to gather their gear, leaving her with the lord. Her throat contracted tight. She really needed to get out more and practice communicating with the general population; this was ridiculous, being nervous.

"Daniel gave the impression that we were meeting more of you?"

Oh—that sounded rather garbled. She winced.

He did not seem to care.

"It is a bit of a tiny car that we own, so only three of us came. Though a small thing like you could have sat on my lap, I am up for the challenge, darling, but I doubt it would have been as enjoyable as we desire it to be."

Small—small? Sam could have froze on the spot. Never in her life had a man called her small. She had always been the rather masculine girl in the Academy, one had to be, to keep up with the guys. A part of her had always been frustrated they had never accepted her because she was a woman, she had practically needed to fight tooth and nail for her place in the AirForce—but seriously—small?

Then again, glancing sideways at the tall English lord, maybe she was small.

He gave her a gentle push. "Come, come. This airport is a well-oiled machine but the car-parking is a nightmare."

Sam nodded. She had to admit, the Domino airport was an impressive sight of glossy white marble and glass structures. Shimmering holographic display panels glittered in every direction displaying flights and advertisements.

The floor under her looked more futuristic than many of the planets she had traveled too, with it rippling like fluid at each step she took. Water appeared to be the main feature, which did not come as a surprise, considering that what she had read up about Domino described the city as being a fast developing self-sustaining sea-city stretching out over the ocean.

Ryou offered her his arm. A nibbling part of her wanted to refuse; because that is what she would have usually done but before she realized it she had linked their arms.

"How did you know who we were?" she inquired, peering up at him. Despite his height he was not as overpoweringly warrior-like as the Teal'c however something told her he could be just as swift in dealing a death blow if need be. Under his gray skivvy, he had board shoulders—the kind she only saw in military men that trained long and hard. She had no doubt that he a lot of pride in his physique, though not in the manner of vanity. He did not look narcissistic in the least.

The lord gave her a blazon smirk, "My dear, Daniel told me to find a beautiful blond woman in a blue dress. Thus I found the most beautiful woman I could lay my eyes on."

Was that a—did he just—it had been such a long time since a man had flirted with her. She did not know how to respond, what to do, how to even move after such a motion. The very idea that a man who was not in her immediate circle would even bother with a fuddy-duddy science nerd was astronomically crazy. Okay, the General was right; she really had to get out more if this was how sorry a sight she was mentally becoming.

Sam sighed. Great—she was getting _very_ dusty.

Out of the airport into the busy parking they wandered, bypassing folk on the most startling looking contraptions that must have been something like open train-lines spiraling off to other sections of the airport. They eventually ended up within the barrenness of endless cars, and Sam was glad for their guide. She would have been happy with an unexplored planet any day—this madness of cars was a monstrosity.

The English lord gave a victory laugh. "Ah, finally!" He pointed down a road. "There they are."

Sam looked up in hope.

Waiting by a small white car was a rather short, slender man standing beside a relaxed looking Daniel. Sam stopped in her tracks, causing Ryou to pause. It could not be Daniel, he looked nothing like the Daniel who she had kissed goodbye at the SGC, looking all moue and sodden in his gray over-coat and chunky jeans. This version of their linguist had a spark in him. A new lease of life that she had not seen before and it was wonderful to behold.

"What did you do to him?" she whispered.

Ryou laughed, "Yugi and I took him shopping."

"Yugi?"

"You see that other fellow there."

Sam glanced at the man beside Daniel. Despite only reaching Daniel's shoulders in height, he look imposing, as if he carried a massive weight. His glossy, ebony hair was tightly bound back in a tail. In stark contrast to Ryou's pale-white, for even his skin was a dark burnt tone.

"Is that Yugi?"

Ryou reflected a fond smile. "No, that's Yami, Yugi is his partner." He swirled his free hand, "Yugi is a bright little fellow who makes everyone feel safe, warm, comfortable…he happens to radiate general well-being and it rubs off on people."

Sam raised an eyebrow. She could have honestly said the same about Ryou, his presence beside her was just as comfortable.

"I cannot believe you took Daniel shopping." Getting Daniel out of his apartment had been an impossible job, she had tried to take him out for dinner on several occasions and had failed terribly.

"Hmmm, trust me," Ryou smirked, "it's my worst nightmare, but decent pants makes sitting at a desk for hours reading piles and piles of notes a lot easier." He scratched his bristled chin and Sam suddenly realized that he was not clean shaven. She had not noticed it before, his hair being so white and so fine. His rustic, uncultivated look, his musky scent unusual dag attire did not match his aristocratic twang. "We had to get that through Daniel's head somehow..."

"Whatever you've done, thank you, he's been so melancholy…"

"I would be too, if my wife was taken by a Goa'uld. Well, if I had a wife to be taken…usually I'm the one who is being taken. I have a fantastic damsel-in-distress mode." He winked, dragging her forward. "Come along, my dear." She was almost too stunned just hearing someone say the word Goa'uld to even care anymore about Daniel.

Just what was going on here? Who was this man?

His arm around her shoulder tightened and he bent, whispering softly in her ear. A shiver rushed down her spine, chilling her in a delightful, gratifying fashion.

"The question, darling, is not who am I…it is what am I?"

It took everything within her to resist turning in his grasp to ask the question on her lips, to seek the answer, to discover what just was behind the veil shrouding them. He was tempting her, he knew she was a scientist, that she desired, above all else, the answers.

Daniel was already eagerly greeting Jack and Teal'c like the adorable puppy Sam often found herself comparing him to. Eger and bouncy, ready to please or yap your ear off, Daniel was like a can of soda ready to pop at any given moment.

He spread his arms at her approach, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's been awhile. Did you save the world while I've been away?"

"Can't save it without you, Daniel." Sam hugged him tightly. He felt firmer somehow, and she furrowed her brow. Surely it was not just the clothes that had changed in him. She pulled away, peering into his eyes for a moment, trying to see within them what she had missed in his brief couple weeks away from them.

He gave her a grin. The expression change his very nature, he looked like a brand new man, wearing a grin.

"So you met Ryou?" Daniel looked to Ryou with a hopeful nod.

"He's a Lord." Jack jutted a finger at the English man.

"Actually, call him Count, he hates that." Daniel chuckled, his eyes glittering in inward mirth as he glanced to the newer stranger beside him knowingly. "Well, this is another one of my new friends; they've been very kind to me these last few weeks…"

"They are the reason why we're here?" Sam squeezed out the question. She had to know, it had been such an odd request from Daniel to send them all overseas, and to make the General agree to do so on such short notice, whatever was the reason was big enough to risk this trip.

"Not here, love." Ryou touched her shoulder, "To open, to many eyes and ears." He looked so horribly concerned in that moment, almost sick. She wanted to grab his hand and assure him that nothing was really going to harm him, the Goa'uld where far away!

Jack frowned at Ryou's comment. Apparently it disturbed him just as much, "Danny?"

"He's right, Jack. Just…trust me on this." Daniel cringed, "So, ah, guys…this is Yami. He's our driver, I can't drive here, and Ryou refuses to touch a wheel so he got the job."

The new stranger waved as he gave a graceful stride forward. "Welcome friends of Daniel Jackson, I am Yami Motou." He inclined his head in a small bow. "It is an honor to meet you."

Sam had the impression that though he was the one doing the bowing, she should have been extending her gratuities for being in his presence. Though he was even smaller in stature up close, there was a contained deadliness about his movements, something Teal'c had obviously noticed for she saw the Jaffa shift his attention from Daniel to the stranger.

Sam slid closer to Ryou. Just like her new acquaintance, Yami had the same reflection of age about him despite his young appearance only he smelt far older. It was like he carried the aroma of burial herbs and spices, with the dusty remains of some forgotten tomb—the kinds of smells she had become accustomed too when entering Daniel's office in the SGC.

It was not off putting, rather it was intriguing. Just like Ryou, this man was not Japanese. She had been expecting to meet and greet Japanese people in Japan and here, her first two hellos were with two entirely different nationalities she would never have placed in Japan. Yami looked exotic, bedazzling and princely dressed in gray jeans, shin-high buckled boots and a tightly knitted red sweater.

"Hopefully you can all fit in the car." He taped the car door as he rounded it and popped the boot. "Let's get your luggage packed."

They did manage to pile into the car. The Colonel and Teal'c taking the two back seats, herself and Ryou the middle-row and at the front Yami and Daniel comfortably slid in. Despite how small it looked on the outside, Sam admired the sleek design. There were barely any features to the car, it was a very stylized, minimalistic creation. As they pulled out of the car-park a holographic display whirled across the front-window, dazzling her with a display of shimmering lights, directing Yami with a blinking arrow.

She must have been wearing a rather goofy smile of delight for Ryou was chuckling softly.

"It is a prototype car from Kaiba Corp. Yugi's grandfather is one of the test-drivers for their cars."

"When will it hit the market?" Jack bent forward, leaning on the seat. Ryou peered over his shoulder at the Colonel.

"Kaiba has not ironed out the kinks in the solar-cube yet, but as soon as he has, he intends to release it unto the wild." Ryou fluttered his hands. "So far only folks here in Domino own them."

"Can't believe your city is named after a game?" Jack grumbled.

Sam rolled her eyes. He had honestly not shut-up about that ever since they left the SGC.

"It's the City of Games," Yami spoke from the driver's seat, "no better place to be. Welcome to the power-house of the Twenty-First Century." They passed under a large bridge as he spoke.

Sam leaned forward. This was the one place she had wanted to visit on Earth. Kaiba Corporations was the leading technology company in the world, with a young, brilliant billionaire scientist she had had the honor of conversing with only through emails. That these young men knew him, good enough to ride in a car he was building, that just blew her mind right out of its skull. She was so envious of Daniel, he had met Seto Kaiba and she had not even been there to see it happen!

As they broke out of the shadow of bridge the cascading light that shone of a multitude of buildings blinded Sam for a moment. Across a landscape of rolling hills a cityscape was networked like a grid, intersected with rings of freshly planted grassland and trees. The web sprawled out toward the sea, spilling over it in a net, expanding out further until she lost view of it.

It all surrounded a great center spire, protruding free from a rising hub of skyscrapers.

Ryou touched her thigh. He leaned over her, pointing through the window to the skyline. "That is Kaiba Tower. As you can see our entire city is built around it, the layout of the city is in circles. If we were on the sky-train you would be able to see that the shape of the city is actually in the format of ripples expanding out from Kaiba Tower. Each ring is divided into its own division, has its own individual use."

"The largest is the agricultural ring," Yami spoke out. "It's going to be able to sustain the population of the city and more, hopefully…within another three or so years. I believe that is Seto's plan."

"They're currently still building it! You'll be able to see part of it. It's being built over the ocean. Kaiba is having to extend the city out into the sea because he's just…run out of land." Daniel turned from his seat, looking delighted, "It's incredible guys! This city is going to become its own country soon."

Ryou gave a laugh. "Oh if Seto could find a way, he would make this place fly and blast the whole thing into space just to get away from Earth so that he and everyone here can live in peace. He cannot stand the pathetic squabbling that goes on upon this planet. He would fire nukes at everyone if he could just to shut everyone up."

"I told him not to." Sam watched as Yami gave Daniel a playful slap on the arm.

Ryou suddenly snapped, his temperament changing rapidly, "Pharaoh! Watch the bloody road!"

The car jerked to a stop. Yami sighed at the stop-light. "Hey, cut me some slack, I never actually learnt to drive, it's all residual memories from Yugi. How about you try it for a change."

Ryou shook his head, muttering something under his breath.

Sam smiled at him as he brushed at his hair irritably. "Don't like driving?"

"He doesn't like moving objects he can't control more like." Daniel chuckled.

"Oh do be quiet Daniel." Ryou kicked the back of Daniel's chair. "No, dear, it is just this part of the city…the roads have not been installed with the correct sensors yet. Seto is slowly changing the grid network, but it is slow work to change an entire city. This just…reminds me of London. Total chaos…lovely chaos, but chaos none-the-less."

"I had no idea Mr. Kaiba had such…an influence." Sam she looked back through the window, entranced at the passing city outside. The beauty in the buildings, all intricately designed, all so brilliantly built, made her ridiculously happy. These people cared about their city. They had pride in what they had achieved and it was reflected in the care they took to uphold what was theirs.

The hand of the lord on her thigh squeezed tight.

"Oh, he has more influence than most think. There is power and then there is…Seto Kaiba. Welcome to his Empire. We like to call it, behind his back, the Age of the Dragon."

They headed up a bridge, moving over a vast river that snaked its way around a ring of the city, dotted with boats. Sam breathed out in awe. What a magnificent place. She had visited distant planets and yet something about this city made her skin tingle. Maybe it was because it was an Earth city, it was not alien, and she could be proud of it and the achievement of it. As they drove closer to the center of the city the more pristine the world around her became. Encased in glass and get rolling in nature, with luscious wild trees entangled between the buildings. It seemed like such a dangerous idea and yet, somehow it worked. Nature and modern humanity coexisted freely, that seemed to be the driving concept behind the heart of the city itself.

It was perhaps a forty-five minute drive to their destination, in Sam's opinion it was over far too quickly, but by the time they pulled into a lazy street, the car slowing down, she felt as if Domino was as comfortably a new home as the one she had left—though maybe the company helped that sensation.

"Welcome to the Game Shop." Ryou motioned to the window, "We would have booked you a hotel, but this place has far more charm, do you not agree?"

Sam peered forward. She smiled at the sight that welcomed her. It was so adorable. Sam gushed secretly at the vision of the small Game Shop as they drove up to it, past it and into a tiny drive-way. It kind of looked a bit like—well—a bit like a turtle.

Yami parked the car, shutting off the engine. He sat back with a long, content sigh of satisfaction.

"We made it, and I didn't kill anyone. High five." He held up a hand and Daniel slapped it with gusto. Sam found herself smiling at the sight. Daniel really had improved tenfold. This she had not expected, but she was utterly relieved about it.

Through a backdoor she watched someone in bright yellow jeans and a light blue sweater burst out. His short chopped hair was a dark raven that framed his features, and loose golden bangles decked out his wrists flamboyantly, just asking to highlight his subtle athletic frame. He grabbed Ryou's side-door and yanked it open, popping his head in and revealing a brilliant, dazzling smile.

"Hope you're hungry! Guess what I made?"

"I hope it isn't your awful Tuna Bake," Daniel grumbled as he booted open his door.

"I take offence to that," the young man stepped aside, "and no, I made American Hamburgers! Because you're an American."

"You do realize you're being stereotypical again, Yugi, and I don't think there is such a thing as American Hamburgers." Daniel poked his cheek.

"You do realize, Daniel, that I am being so on purpose…and according to the internet…American Hamburgers do exist. They make them at McDonalds. Not much difference than a normal burger, so…no idea what makes them _American_." He added a fake accent, causing Daniel to snort a laugh at his attempt.

Sam found her door opened by Yami and he offered her a hand. She accepted it, finding she really did not have a choice. He gave a motion over the top of the car to the raven haired young man addressing Daniel. "My partner, Yugi. He's rather hard not to miss. You just go where you hear the overly ostentatious voice and jingle of jewelry." He spoke with such warmth in his eyes.

So _that_ was Yugi?

Sam rounded the car, feeling a mite bit useless as Ryou once more claimed her luggage. She stood awkwardly beside Daniel, brushing off her dress. Why did she wear a dress again, she should have worn jeans, or something other than a dress.

"Yugi, this is the Captain Samantha Carter, the most brilliant woman I know." Daniel flashed her a grin.

"So you're the Captain I've heard so much about. I'm so glad to meet you." Yugi bowed. "I hope your trip here was not too difficult."

Yugi was so short—and Lord Ryou called her small! It sounded awfully rude the way she said it in her head but it was honestly the truth. He was actually very short. He did not carry himself as though he were petite for he held himself upright and proper as though he were incredibly tall and proud, but she was forced to look down at him as if she were addressing a teenager and it felt oddly wrong. He reached only her shoulder height and looked up at her, but he hardly seemed to even care that he was doing so. Maybe he was just used to it.

Yami shifted up beside him, causing her to realize he was only a fraction taller and side by side, the two were eerily similar but not so much that one would notice it on first glance. A trained eye would have to gauge it. They were twins, distorted by their race and, if she was to be a very strict judge, possibly by age. Yami had to be the elder, at least by five or so years.

She smiled. "Well, the trip was longer than the ones I'm used to."

Behind her the Colonel coughed loudly, but the grin Yugi was giving her told her all she really needed to know. He was fully aware of what she meant by her phase of words; he knew about the Stargate, the same as Ryou had mentioned the Goa'uld. She glanced at Daniel. The archaeologist was giving a thumb up. Oh yes, they were all being so very obscure about this whole thing weren't they?

Ryou took her by the arm. "Come along, now, I am sure you are all utterly exhausted and in need of a good feed and rest after your travels. Let us not keep you lolly-gagging in the drive-way. Lead the way Yugi, old-boy."

Yugi slapped open the door, singing out cheerfully. "Bakura! We've got guests!"

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Yugi hid the bitter cringe rising up from inside. He had no idea how Ryou had managed to stay locked up inside the car with a Goa'uld larvae, but he had to hand it to his fellow-Light, it was a feat and a half. His skin had iced over the moment he came a meter near the Jaffa. Yami had gone into over-drive to mentally sooth him over so he would not go into an instant panic-attack as the memories of going up against the warriors of the Goa'uld in his past-life swamped into his mind.

They had not been his memories—they were Yami's, no…not even Yami's…they were Atemu's—he was Yugi Motou, he was the reincarnation and he had not endured torture at their hands. Running the words though his mind he jogged up the stair-well, breathing out deeply. The Jaffa—Teal'c, Daniel called him Teal'c—was an ally, a friend, he meant no harm, he could not help the fact that he had an alien snake stuck in his gut and relied upon it as his immune system. It was a rather sad thing really. Yes, he should feel compassion for the Jaffa. As a Light, that was his path, compassion and purity, desiring to help those in need.

Heading into the living room Yugi caught sight of Bakura setting the table. The thief-king gave a wave, setting down the last plate. Bakura had started his own transformation, which Yugi was sure Ryou would soon follow, when the lord overcame the fact that he would need to cut short his beloved white locks and dye them dark to hide his uniqueness. Their new lives would begin; Seto had already started the process of establishing identities for them. Yugi touched his new black hair. It was odd to not see blond bangs in front of his eyes, but he really was not too fussed about it, not like Ryou would be—even he had to say, Ryou's incredible hair could possibly go down as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and that was being modest. Yes, he was jealous of his best-friends insanely beautiful, luscious, pure white locks—and he would mourn their death just as much as Ryou would when they came to cutting them off and dyeing them. He could picture it now, two men in a bathroom, sitting on the rim of the bath, debating how they were going to cut off some hair. It was hopelessly amusing. Tea would be terribly horrified at them both right about now. Yugi snorted a soft laugh at the back of his throat, tickled that all his thoughts had led back to Tea.

Bakura had shortened his to a short chop and darkened it to a natural raven tone, keeping it in sync with his Hebrew nationality. He no longer looked like an abnormality—well other than his black and red eyes—those were still pretty alien, and creepy. It was odd how he saw Bakura's eyes as creepy and never Yami's eyes as creepy. In a blink Bakura switched them, as if Ryou had reminded him through soul-talk to lose his true Dark nature of a lord of shadows. Yugi smiled as Bakura wrapped him in an arm, looking down at him with a hazel gaze. It was a bear-hug, so very un-Yami like. He would never admit it out loud, but damn, Bakura could give good hugs when he was not in the mood for stabbing people through the back-gut-neck—well—practically anywhere on the body. Seriously, the guy was made to be some kind of glorious contradiction just to confuse them all so they would never know when they were all going to be killed in their sleep by him.

_So, the big reveal, _the Dark offered.

Yugi hummed inwardly, throwing Bakura a mental image of party-poppers exploding all around them, causing the spirit to crack a grin and ruffle his newly dyed hair.

Yugi heard a whistle and glanced around. It was, well, he believed it must have been the Colonel, from what Daniel had described of his team members the man wearing the cap, a draggy shirt and jeans could have been none other than Jack O'Neill. He was setting aside his baggage and clapping his hands as he studied the Game Shop's second story.

"This is nice."

"Why thank you," Yugi tipped back on his heels, "it is my grandfather's home, though I lived here all my life until…well…until I moved out with my partner to explore the wonders of the world." He motioned to Yami.

"You're gay?" Jack pointed between them both. "I could have guessed that."

Yugi shook his head. "No, well…people usually see it that way, but no. We do like women, do we? Yami do we like women?"

Yami raised an eyebrow, "Aibou, is that a trick question, are you trying to confuse me?"

Jack stared between them both, "But you just said—"

Yugi smirked, "No, no, Colonel. You see, this—" he waved a hand between himself and Yami, "—I like to see our relationship more as…being really, really narcissistic…possibly a mixed with bit of necrophilia."

Across the room Daniel broke into laughter, "Nice Yugi, just creep everyone out real well."

Yugi shrugged, glancing to Yami with raised eyebrows. "What do you think, handsome?"

Yami chuckled, "My devotion is entirely to you, Aibou…and my eight wives, or was it nine…"

"Eleven." Yugi held up his fingers. "Two of them you never met."

"Ah…yes, can't even remember why that was." Yami rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Ah well, guess I'll never know now." He spread his arms, "And besides, you're as beautiful as all of them combined..."

"Oh, don't try that one on me, handsome." Yugi waggled a finger. "I may have fallen for it in high-school, but never again."

"And as much trouble as them all too, so I don't see much difference." Yami flashed a leer.

Tugging away from Bakura's hold Yugi blew a rasp as both Dark's laughed at his pout, "I am not trouble."

"Really?" Daniel added, "I think you're the definition of the word."

"Okay, can we not play game-up-on-Yugi? Instead we should eat the food I so busily made for our visitors."

"Speaking of which, introductions are in order—" Ryou stepped forward, "Daniel, since you know everyone, please…" he gave a motion, "you do the honor."

"Ah…right…" Daniel shuffled forward awkwardly. "Jack, Sam, Teal'c—this is—Ryou, Bakura, Yugi and Yami."

Yugi smirked behind a hand at Ryou's eye roll, apparently not pleased at Daniel's attempt of an introduction. The English lord flourished a hand, "Bakura, dear, I would like you to meet Doctor Samantha Carter."

Obeying his light Bakura swaggered up, holding out a hand as he slid up beside Ryou in one smooth movement. He caught Sam's wrist, bending forward and pressing a soft kiss to her palm.

"A doctor? My, I think the IQ of this place just went up."

Yugi blinked, staring at the scene. "Are Ryou and Bakura tag flirting?" he whispered, glancing up at Yami.

"I believe they are."

"_Yikes, heavens help the female population of the world,"_ Yugi threw his arms high, speaking Japanese. _"They will unleash Armageddon upon us all!" _He spun on his heels, hearing both Daniel and Yami echo laugher behind him as he vanished around the kitchen counter and the Colonel O'Neill's confused inquiry.

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Daniel was positive that Yugi and Bakura's meal went down well. The atmosphere within the little Game Shop's second story was warm and inviting, enough that even Jack was willing to relax a bit amongst what must have been a confronting scenario. The Colonel still did not know who these young men were, why they had been called out here, and as their liaison he had not said a peep about it. It must have been killing the Colonel, for sure. Daniel had to admire his old friend for being a good-sport and not spoiling a nice meal and offending their hosts. At least the Colonel could be civil sometimes…sometimes…

And then there was Yami and Bakura—there was no doubt that both Darks could sense Teal'c was a Jaffa, they did not need to see the golden symbol tattooed into his forehead under the beanie he wore to know that.

By the way Yugi and Ryou sometimes skipped around Teal'c's chair, they knew too.

But all four of them spoke to the Jaffa, included him in the conversation and acted as though they held no grudge for what he was. Daniel had to wonder if Malik would have been as kind, something told him it would not have gone down so well if the strange eerie Egyptian had actually been here.

He repressed a shiver.

The thought of Malik was still creeping him out. Yami and Bakura he could deal with, they had a backstory, they were dark-angry haunting spirit guys on a mission of revenge and protection of the Earth—Malik, yeah, he had no clue what that guy was about.

"So, how long have you all known Seto Kaiba?" Sam was speaking.

Daniel brought himself back into the conversation, noticing Yugi had collected all the dishes and the table was now clear. The little light was dancing a tray of hot drinks around the kitchen counter.

He set them down, giving Sam a thoughtful glance.

"Ohhh…well, I've known him since he was a moron."

"Yugi be nice." Yami settled back with a yawn, stretching his arms high over his head. It was amazing just how Human and realistic the spirit could appear when he wanted too, his mannerisms, Yugi said, being mirrored leftovers of his time as a living-young man. Such a concept made Daniel's spine tingle, as his mind lit up with the thoughts of just what it was that the Pharaoh really felt from the world around them.

"What? He tried to kill me, on several occasions," Yugi pointed out, with a rather dramatic stab of his knife.

"Everyone tries to kill you." Bakura passed out the drinks, "You practically wear a shirt saying 'shoot me, please!' Trust me, I fell for it and look where it got me, living with you and your pansy-king."

"Sod-off." Yugi rolled his eyes.

"Hey, do you want a nice warm bed tonight? Because I can have Ryou kick you out."

"If you kick me out of the bed again, Bakura, I will jump-ship into the Ring and chase you about until you squeal for mercy." Yugi waggled a finger.

"Sounds like fun, can we make a date."

"Gah!" Yugi snatched the nearest tea-towel, flicking it at the spirit, "You think you're such a smarty-pants."

"Then stop goading him, Yugi, he enjoys it far too much. To answer your question justly, Samantha dear," Ryou shoved Yugi back into his chair, "we all meet Seto in high-school. We were…part of the same…group, so to speak. We survived many adventures together."

"When you say adventures…?" Jack leant forward, pursing his lips.

Ah, Daniel repressed a grin. Now they were getting somewhere, Jack was finally beginning to click into gear. Good.

In the same mannerism as the Colonel, Yugi leant forward, mirroring the motion.

He raised an eyebrow, "When we say adventures…we mean saving the world. You see, we all have that in common. Ryou and I have just been doing it since we were teenagers. Yami and Bakura, well, they started earlier than that, about five thousand years ago, give or take a few years."

"I think I did more to destroy the world than save it though," Bakura shrugged, "considering I got myself captured and snogged by a Goa'uld."

"Zorc was a pretty looking woman, I don't blame you." Yami chuckled. The Pharaoh casually leaned forward, resting his chin upon his folded hands.

"But you didn't even flinch when she walked out all naked and shiny.

Yami gave a sharp brass bark of a laugh, "Like I haven't seen a naked woman before, seriously Bakura…if my entire Empire fell because of a Goa'uld wearing an attractive woman's skin, then I really do need to find a time machine and go back and do something about that entire scenario."

"Guess we need that time machine." Bakura smirked, glancing to Yugi.

Yugi punched his arm. "That's from your Pharaoh."

"Yeah…I think a flea could hit me harder, pip-squeak."

"Excuse me," Ryou waved his hands suddenly, "wait…wait…why have I not seen this memory? Are you telling me and I was wooed by a naked Goa'uld? Bakura! How could you! I am aghast to be your reincarnation."

Bakura eased himself out of his seat, picking up his coffee mug, "That appalls you? Wow...and here I thought the whole killing, murdering and being an all-out scumbag was the problem, I feel so relieved." He set about brewing the pot again, calling out, "Pharaoh, do you want another one?"

Yami glanced down at his cup, he picked it up and turned it over, "Aibou, did you drink my coffee?"

"Sorry." Yugi flashed a grin. "He'll have another one, Bakura."

"I know who you are." Teal'c placed his hands softly upon the table, he looked to Jack. "I know who they are."

"Well damn good, because I just didn't get a word of what they said! Apparently he's a Pharaoh, someone is reincarnated and someone else wants a time machine and _what_ Goa'uld is called _Zorc_?"

"Zorc Necrophades—the bastard brother of Ra Amon—" Teal'c frowned, "—a very ancient Goa'uld, his Jaffa have long died out. Zorc was most powerful, he desired a great weapon that was said to be in possession of the Tau'ri."

Yami smiled, "Ah, the Jaffa…you never forget do you."

"We do not forget. We will never forget." Teal'c settled back in his chair, folding his arms stoutly across his chest.

"Good." Bakura placed a new mug of coffee down before Yami and stood behind the Pharaoh, "Because we haven't forgotten either."

"You are Nameless Tau'ri Pharaoh of the Legends, and you would be his First Prime, you both began the Rebellion." Teal'c inclined his head. "That you would have survived the generations and live to still fight is foretelling that we shall someday defeat the Goa'uld."

Yami smiled, "I am honored you believe so, Jaffa. It gives me great hope that others of your kind may think so as well. I had always hoped that maybe what we did all those centuries ago would bring about a change in your people…"

"Whoa…wait, wait! Hold up," Jack cast out his hands, "What? What? They're who now?"

Teal'c turned to the Colonel. This was it, Daniel breathed out steadily, the moment he had been hoping for. He had based everything on Teal'c knowing the legend, simply because Teal'c had known the symbol for Earth that day they had first meet. He had made an assumption that the Jaffa knew of the Legend of the Nameless Pharaoh because the Goa'uld feared the Tau'ri, they feared Earth because of the one scar on their history—and therefore the symbol of Earth would be taboo, it would be known.

He held his breath. Teal'c had to convince Jack. Jack would listen to Teal'c. Teal'c would be worth more than any amount of proof, any amount of showing Jack old relics, gathered dusty pieces of torn apart ships—Jack trusted Teal'c's word. That Daniel could count on.

"Your people, Colonel-O'Neill, have been kept safe because of the Nameless Pharaoh, the Tau'ri Warrior of the Shadows, who defeated the Goa'uld and chased them from your planet countless generations ago. The Goa'uld have feared this place, the space around it, ever since…"

"And you're telling me that's him?"

"Indeed."

"Okay, how are you not dead and rotting in a tomb?" Jack turned to Yami. "Don't tell me you're a snake-head."

Yami flashed a razor-blade grin, "Colonel, did I ever say I was alive?"

Bakura chuckled, resting his hands upon the back of Yami's chair. "The Stargate isn't the only type of technology out-there you know. Daniel says you folks go out looking for technology, you should have thought about looking here on Earth first…we've been under your noses all this time." The dark spirit motioned to Yugi and Ryou, "Those two young men, they're our hosts, so you could say we're a bit like the Goa'uld in that we need mortal bodies to live…we're spirits. You know, from another dimension."

"We're split souls to be more precise," Yugi held out his hands, holding up one as a fist and leaving the other open, "five thousand years ago we were cursed, and this is our curse. To protect this planet and all upon it for as long as we exist."

"Souls don't exist." Sam finally interjected. "There is no scientific evidence to even suggest that Humans have a Soul…or that curses even exist."

Ryou peered across at her over his spectacles. The smile he was giving the woman was one of primeval delight, as though he had just found his most sought after treasure. Yugi slapped his hand down upon his friend's knee, burrowing his nails deep into the skin under the jeans. Ryou barely flinched, it was, instead, Bakura who shifted at the action, as though all sensation of touch had been transferred to the Dark.

Yugi narrowed his lips. This was new.

"Well, think of the curse as more of being stamped by a highly technologically advanced race, having your DNA tampered with, it's like being cursed in a manner of speaking and I assure you, my dear, the Soul is very real. I would not be sitting here beside you if it were not so." Ryou breathed in sharply.

"Bakura is the remains of a purged Soul, the severed dark half of what was once a whole man…he is now a spirit, encased within this piece of technology left over by the Truth-gods. I am the remains of the Soul that was left behind, the piece left wandering, forced to stray until I was reborn into the physical dimension and merged with my other-self once more." Ryou held up the Ring thoughtfully, and Yugi watched Sam's eyes sparkle at the sight of the Millennium Ring. It was not the same look upon her face that he had witnessed in the eyes of many before her, the look of lust and desire for the gold of the Item, but instead it was the look of wonder and the desire to discover more, the quest for knowledge and the undying thirst, the need, to figure out what Ryou was saying.

"We are an example of perfect harmony, and yet also an example of the worst in Humanity, for we can never become whole again, we are forced to exist as two entities, when we desire to only be one being again. It is that continuous friction between our divided Soul that creates the magnitude of power forged in this weapon you see before you, that makes us immortal." Ryou let the Ring slip back onto his chest and he looked back at Sam, "The Soul exists, just because you cannot see it with your science, does not mean it is not there…surely someone who deals with a Stargate would accept that."

Sam stared between Ryou and Bakura, and finally Yugi felt her eyes settle upon him. He gave her a warm smile, and nodded. He touched the Millennium Puzzle, holding it forth in the palm of his hand.

"Daniel came to us because he found a tablet on one of your off-world missions that mentioned the Millennium Items in reference to something called the Cities of Dawn. As bearers of the Millennium Items, we rather known a bit about a lot, as you can imagine. I can translate the tablet with Daniel, and together, I am positive we can use the technology hidden therein to protect our planet, solar-system and the people beyond. That was why the Truth-god Re cursed us, because he wanted us to survive beyond the walls of time, so we could continue his good-will past the grave."

"Who are the Truth-gods?" Jack sneered, "More snake-heads?"

"No," Daniel quickly threw in the sharp word before Yami had the chance, "as far as I can make out, Jack, they're an advance race of aliens who left behind footprints for us to follow. They're the god's of the ancient Egyptians who the Goa'uld stole the identities of."

"Yikes, I bet that pissed them off."

"Not really," Yami mused thoughtfully, "it was more our job as their children to defend them."

"Typical gods." Jack grumbled.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Yami here was still a true believer, thus he lead the Rebellion when he was a young Pharaoh, to throw Ra and Zorc off Earth."

"The Truth-gods welded the Shadows, that created all life in the Universe." Yami closed his eyes, "Before there was light, there was Shadows, then Re came, and broke light upon the Shadows."

"What about you?" Jack motioned to Bakura.

"My people were massacred as blood-sacrifices to bring the Millennium Items back from the Shadow Dimension, I live in a constant state of being pissed off at everyone." Bakura hissed. "I then betrayed my beloved king, my kingdom, my wife and my children by becoming a host to a Goa'uld and slaying the man I had sworn to protect. So what about me? I hate the Goa'uld, do you need to know anything else other than my desire to kill them?" He raised an eyebrow at the Colonel.

"Nope," Jack popped his lips, "I think that just about sums that up. He can be on the team, I like him. He's trust-worthy."

"Well, that's a first." Ryou spluttered out half his tea. "Usually it's the other way around. Yami's the trust-worthy one."

"Oh no, no." Jack waved his hands, "I am a great judge of character. I believe tall-dark-and-handsome, not sure about shorty though." The Colonel peered across the table, giving a frown at the Pharaoh.

Yugi looked about to crack a laugh until Yami sent his other half a sharp glare.

There was some truth though, Daniel sighed inwardly, that Jack did have a gift with people. If there was one thing about Jack, it was his ability to judge a person, or a spirit. Even if the guy played dumb, he had not become a Colonel by being stupid. He had got to where he was for a reason.

Teal'c looked perplexed. "You do not believe them, Colonel-O'Neill? DanielJackson would not bring us here if he did not believe them."

"Daniel believes anything." Jack grumbled.

That hurt—a bit—though it was somewhat true in a sense, it still hurt that the Colonel would think in that manner. They were friends; they had saved each-others' lives and now he was presenting his team with something on their own home-world that was just as alien and bizarre as their everyday lives, surely they could have accepted it just as they accepted everything else he presented to them off-world.

Yugi's hand folded over his, giving it a tight squeeze of reassurance. The next sentence that came from Yugi was in Japanese, "_Would you like Yami to demonstrate to the Colonel just how close he is to death right now?"_

Daniel narrowed his lips. Did he really want to freak Jack out that much? Maybe that was what it would take, a really shocking revelation. He sighed, bowing his head and giving a small nod. Such a horrible person he was, honestly, he was.

Yugi eased slowly to his feet, his chair scraping back as he moved.

"Colonel, you seem like a very intelligent man. Captain, you also do not seem like the kind of woman who would deny what she would see. So I would like you both to take a moment to right now give yourselves the chance to accept that I am the reincarnation of a young man who died several thousand years ago, fighting the same enemy you are now fighting. I exist solely because my soul was split, divided into two halves by a form of technology you have no yet encountered upon your travels." He held out the Puzzle. "You can see me as a carrier, a host, call me what you will—I exist so that I can cast a shadow." He motioned to Yami still sitting upon his seat. "My shadow is the other half of my soul, that young man who died valiantly fighting a battle he would always lose. Together, united, we form a single entity. Divided, we are a nightmare."

Jack was making faces but Sam was looking utterly intrigued, at least that was a good sign, Daniel figured. He had Sam on his side. Teal'c on the other hand was totally enthralled by the entire situation, well, he must have been, he had not said a word and was staring at Yugi as if he were a real god, so…good thing right?

"Yami…Bakura," Yugi inclined his head, "as you wish."

Bakura and Yami shared a glance. There was one, mortifying moment when Daniel was sure that they were all going to be dropped into the Shadow Realm thing that had been described to him in Yugi and Ryou's stories, but instead both Sam and Jack's eye's simply glossed over into black pits.

Their bodies slackened. Ryou caught Sam's shoulder, supporting her as she began to shake. The English lord jerked toward his darker half in concern.

"Bakura?"

The ancient spirit shrugged, "She will see whatever she desires to see."

Teal'c stood slowly, his shoulder's snapping back like thick tree limbs.

"It's alright," Yugi offered softly, "it'll be over in a second."

And he was right, it was.

Jack came back with a shouted gasp. The force of righting himself into reality knocked him off his chair. Yami moved to catch him but paused midway, seeming to choose otherwise. The Pharaoh smirked, spinning back on his heels and giving Daniel a back handed wave as the Colonel floundered about on the floor. Daniel shook his head at the king.

Sam jostled away from Ryou, shoving him backward in alarm, a look of pure horror in her eyes.

"What…was…that…" The Captain spluttered.

"It's alright," Ryou held out his hands in submission, "you're alright, Samantha…it's over…"

"Hell, that's what it was." Jack rasped. He was touching his chest; he looked as if he was studying it for a wound. His cheeks were paler than Daniel had ever seen them, and he was breathing erratically.

"Mercy, I'm not dead," he choked out. "I'm…I'm not dead." He looked to Daniel, "It felt so real."

Daniel reached out a hand, giving a faint smile as the Colonel took it and allowed him to help him back upright onto his feet.

"What in the blazes was that?" Jack spluttered. He gaped at Yugi, and at the shadowy being floating behind the slender young man. Daniel held out a Yami's ghostly apparition—honestly, he doubted even with years of being around such a sight would he ever get acclimatized to such a thing as a black cloak of death with red jeweled eyes.

It was so awful that Yugi could smile such a delighted grin. It looked utterly impish on the little light, betraying in him some kind of pure delight at a game-well-played.

"You just experienced the Shadow Realm, Colonel O'Neill. A nightmare of yours, I believe? Don't worry, we couldn't see what it was, but the Shadow Realm reveals itself in all of us as our own personal hell. To me, it is a black pit of loneliness in which I am endlessly searching for someone. Ryou finds himself in a class-room, the clock never strikes three. Whatever you saw is your personal nightmare."

Daniel cringed; glad he had not had to suffer through such an ordeal. He knew what it would have been, his parent's death, for sure. He wondered, for a moment, had Jack seen his son? Or maybe that was not Jack's nightmare version of hell, maybe it was something entirely different than he imagined of his best friend. It really was not his place to pry.

"We're the guardians of that dimension; we're here to make sure it never infects this one as it once did, long ago. Sometimes it can break free and contaminate this dimension and the effect of it is known as a Shadow Game. The Millennium Items we weld can control and contain the Dark Dimension, it is what they were originally designed to do." Yugi inclined his head, "So…if you are willing, Colonel O'Neill, we will offer our services to you and our knowledge of the Goa'uld, if you would let us join you in the fight to protect our planet."

Jack stared at the four, from Ryou to Yugi and then to their shadowy other halves, then slowly back at Daniel.

"I'm ah…can I sleep on it?"

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According to Yugi the bed belonged to his grandfather, who had been kind enough to stay elsewhere while they were visiting. Sam rolled about under the covers, burrowing deeper into the mattress. It was a very nice mattress. It was strange, she had always imagined that in Japan everyone slept on the floor, and in houses made of bamboo—she berated herself—she had such a western, idolized concept of the world outside of her office, from under the SGC.

Still, it had been very sweet of Yugi's grandfather to give up his bed for her. She knew that Jack and Teal'c were sleeping on fold-up beds in an office, as both had refused to use the large king in the other main bedroom.

She sighed, rolling around again.

It was useless. She had slept for a couple of hours but now her mind was wide awake. Pealing open her eyes she stared at the window in the ceiling, hearing outside the sighing sounds of the thriving metropolis of Domino city. Her heart swelled. It was not an awful sound at all, it was peaceful, almost like a lullaby.

She slid out of the bed-covers, finding her dressing gown in the dim light. Carefully she trotted out of the room and down the small passage of the third story, making her way to the stairs. They creaked slightly at her weight as she headed down them, noticing that a lamp was on in the living room.

She peaked through the door, catching sight of—was it Bakura—yes—that had been his name, Bakura.

The spirit one, right? He was dead, or lived on another plain of existence, another dimension, maybe he was an energy field? There were so many different types of possibilities for his existence.

"Can't sleep?"

Sam squeaked at the deep voice.

In the faint light of the lamp on the center table between the couches, Bakura slowly turned, and she caught the glow of red eyes dipped in pools of black liquid. She suppressed a shiver. They had not looked like that during the evening meal, but she was not sure if she preferred them like this, they looked far more surreal.

"Jetlag I think." Sam gulped out.

"Ouch." He waved a hand, "Come…join me then, the heater is on…I had a feeling someone might end up awake. You can make yourself a coffee if you like."

She padded into the living room, turning toward the kitchen. It was indeed instantly warmer the moment she stepped into the new room, almost as if the corridor outside had been void of all light and warmth, and the very existence of the small lamp on the table brought about enough light to scare away dank shadows to allow a festering heat.

She silently made a coffee, surprised to find that she automatically knew where everything was. It had been placed right where she needed it, as if she had been expected all along. Holding the heated treat in her hands she carried it back toward the couches and slowly eased down upon one, sinking into it. The heater's radiating glow tickled the skin of her legs as her dressing gown split and she held out one leg, letting it warm by the glow of the gas.

Bakura's deep chested chuckle stirred her. She glanced toward him. He was lounged on the large three seated couch, an oversized jumper loose around scarred shoulders and his pants were torn at the hems but his feet were bare, buried deep in the fur of some kind of fluffy creature slumbering contently at the heat of the gas flames.

"The Game Shop always makes people feel right at home." The spirit mused, his eyes set upon a large book in his lap. Others like it lay scattered over the center table. Sam crouched forward, taking note of the titles.

She crinkled her nose.

"They're all medical journals," she whispered.

"What did you expect? Crime Novels, maybe Romance…no…Teen Fiction?" He showcased a leer.

"Not medical journals."

"Really?" Bakura swept a hand through his tussles. "You sure about that…I was a blood thirsty, cut-throat warrior-thief back in my day. I used to cut up bodies for a living; I thought this would be a good way to use my knowledge of the human body, and to occupy my mind. I don't sleep, you see, so it's a bit of a problem when you have a tendency to lean to the more psychopathic nature of the soul."

Sam eased back, clutching her warm coffee.

"So you took up medicine?"

"Someone had too. The Pharaoh is more of a theologian, with his gods and his universes—Ryou has healing abilities, but they draw power from his own life-force. He has to remain strong enough to weld them, if he is physically unwell, or harmed, he cannot use them. Besides, sometimes you can't rely on voo-doo."

"And Yugi?" Sam fished.

"Take it from me, the pip-squeak looks small, but he can pack a punch. I've taught him all I know." There was an odd fondness revealed in the tone of his voice. "Caring little guy, but get on his bad side and you'll know all about it. There isn't really a gray area with Yugi, it's either black or white."

"So you're a doctor."

"If the need arises." He stretched, giving a long yawn. "So, I hope we didn't scare you too much with your trip to the Shadow Realm."

Sam breathed out. "You did that, the nightmare?"

"Wasn't really a nightmare, your mind was transported to another dimension, the Dark Dimension—."

"The Shadow Realm."

"Yup." His lips popped. "You see, we can't send mortals there, physically, because of the miasma. The Shadows are usually toxic to those who don't have the genetic coding to withstand the environment."

"So you think that your ancestors were gene-grafted with the ability to tap into this, Dark Dimension, by these Truth-gods?"

"You catch on quickly, sweetie." Bakura shrugged.

"It is interesting."

"Thought you might think so." He tipped his head toward her. "Thus, it was your mind that took the trip, not your body. I don't know if you have the genetic coding, you see."

"I did not enjoy it."

"Trust me, love, there are few who do." He folded himself into a sitting position and rested his hands on his book, "We don't play with the mind willy-nilly. The Pharaoh and I have been doing our stuff for a long time now. People who have no mental shields, like yourself, are pretty easy prey for dark creatures like us to muck about with…but don't worry…if I'm around…I'll make sure no one goes near your mind again."

"You are not…what you look like." Sam swirled her drink.  
"Most people don't talk to me long enough to get to that point." He grinned darkly, placing his book on the table between them. He reached out, stroking the strange creature curled on the couch beside him. It cooed, rolling about and sticking four paws into the air.

In the glow of the heater and lamp Sam watched as the spirit's smile reflected a warm shine of mirth. He stood, his clothing making no sound even though it appeared to rustle and shift. She blinked, sensing him brush past, but felt only an eerie cold chill at his passing. It truly was as though she were in a ghost film, where the indication of a spirit was the changing temperature in the air and the freckling of her skin.

She heard him humming as he boiled the coffee in the kitchen, returning with a plate of cookies. He offered one.

"You'll have to eat one before me, Ryou hasn't had one yet. I'll need to borrow your taste buds."

"Seriously?" Sam took one. "You can't taste food?"

"Technically I can't eat. I don't have a digestive system."

"So where does the food go? You ate dinner, I saw you."

"It is broken down by the particles that create the form you see and turned into energy to help sustain it."

Sam frowned, thinking aloud. "So, in a way, you do have a form of digestion, and technically you are…kind of…alive. Would you die if you didn't eat?"

"No, but you could say I consume energy from Ryou. If Ryou stopped eating, and I continued to consume from him, then he would die and I would die. By consuming food I balance it out and keep him healthier. We had a rocky start to our relationship." Bakura caught her hand across the table. Sam blinked as it was tightly squeezed. He released it and took up a cookie, leaning back and giving a wink.

"Thank you."

She smiled, "But you're only experiencing the cookie through me? You cannot experience it for yourself."

"Well, that's the payment for being dead I suppose. But hey, you enjoyed the cookie. Thus I will enjoy the cookie too. It's the simple things in life, honey."

"Is it strange, being disembodied?" Sam stared at the spirit as he dunked the cookie in the coffee.

Bakura lifted an eyebrow, he gave her a perplexed look, as if her question was one no one had ever thought to ask him.

"I'm not really disembodied. The Ring is my body, and if I _really _feel plucky, I can highjack the landlord's body and go for a spin."

"Landlord?"

Bakura chuckled, "An endearing term for Ryou." He slung an arm around the back of the couch.

The English lord with his long white hair, his high cheek-bones and his bedazzling smile, she still twitched thinking of his greeting earlier that day. Why had she felt so incredibly surreal in his presence? She shook her head, frowning.

"Do you feel things through Ryou?"

"Yes…and no…it's more of an echo." He wobbled a hand about. "It would be easier to be in there all the time, being in this form is very difficult, but like I said, bad start to our relationship…and he's got a good body, deserves to use it. Seriously, you should see the sculpted arse…sorry, did you already admire that?"

Sam choked on her mouthful. She stared at the spirit in agog.

Bakura smirked. "He's my reincarnation, I totally go there. Trust me, I only highjack the best."

Sam slapped a hand into her face. "I cannot believe I am having this conversation."

"According to Yugi, jetlag does strange things."

"Bakura, are you torturing our guest?"

Sam snapped her head up. That accent—no—it was Ryou. Had he just heard that exchange? She sucked in a deep breath, inhaling her coffee as she hid behind the mug. The English lord was standing at the entrance of living room, his mane of white hair tussled around his shoulders.

She had not thought it possible for him to look ruffled, but the overly large shirt he wore was crumpled by sleep, and where those black silk pants?

He stepped in, scrubbing a hand through his hair, raking it back out of his eyes.

"Can't sleep?" He echoed Bakura's words.

Sam managed a smile, "I have no idea what time it would be in America."

He motioned to her mug. "The coffee won't help with that you know."

"Well...I'm up so…may as well." She shrugged.

"Fair enough point," Ryou laughed. A hand went to his lip and his gaze shifted to Bakura. "Did you give Edison a call?"

"I did, everything at the manor is fine."

"The Town?"

"Super dandy." Bakura waved a hand in dismissal. "He wants you to not worry, however Pastor Mark found out about the…ah…attack—"

"Oh…do not tell me he is giving me another sermon about being in danger, I have had just about a bloody enough of those."

"Ryou, you got shot full of bullets."

Ryou fanned himself, "And look at me, I am the splitting image of a perfectly healthy young man. I hope you told Edison to tell Pastor Mark we are perfectly able to look after ourselves."

Bakura slouched back with a groan, "Excuse me, it is your cute backside that I save from fiery Mount. Dooms every blasted waking hour—"

"Oh tish-tosh." Ryou pulled a face, turning sharply. "I'm boiling my tea." He strolled sharply away, leaving a void in the conversation that felt like a large, vacant gape.

Sam stared after the English lord. Even in the lamp light, she could catch the shifting movement of his black silk pants.

He had been shot full of bullets? When? Where? By who? This was a new piece of information they had not received before, that Daniel had not explained. Maybe there was a little more to this story about the two young men and their darker halves than they were being given—and had Daniel been in danger?

"Nice view isn't it." Bakura's voice startled her. Sam flicked her gaze back to the spirit, catching his smirk.

She pulled back, "Ah…what?"

"Come on, dear, I'm a dark spirit, I know the deep, shadowy parts of a Human soul…whatever secrets you think you've got hidden, aren't hidden from me." He winked playfully.

"Bakura, stop scaring our guest." Ryou set his tray down sharply upon the table. He pulled over a chair and set it down. Sam watched as he expertly poured himself a cup of tea, making it look like a dance with the tea-pot.

"Don't mind him, he enjoys playing with people's emotions and minds far too much. He got bored with me…" Ryou's smile was warm as his eyes reflected content, "…our relationship is, thankfully, one of equal standing these days."

"Apparently." Bakura hissed. "Took a while for you to get that."

Sam studied them. There was no tension in their words, not spite, no anger. It was simply words escaping from their mouths. Though the spirit snapped and hissed, though there was grit and gripe to his manner, the perception of his presence never changed—in no way did she find herself feeling threatened by him. In fact, staring between them both, she saw only one thing that her mind could not comprehend; one entity, happy, content, and at peace with itself.

"When you say you had a bad start to your relationship…what do you mean?"

Ryou settled into his chair. He sat so elegantly different than Bakura, with one leg smoothly sliding over the other in a poised position. It was unnatural too, the way he hardly shifted, still as a statue. While Bakura lounged without a care, flipping through his book, reading a page with a single glance. Her chest tightened. She had to know more about their weird predicament, just how had they ended up like this, and what did it mean? Did humans really have a Soul and if so, could she ever prove its existence?

Ryou stared at the drink in his lap. "I see, Bakura mentioned that did he?"

"Apparently I did." Bakura glanced up. "I don't think it's a secret that I'm can be an utter—"

"Bakura was very unable when we first joined, he was still under the control of Zorc, the Goa'uld who took him as host. Some of Zorc's influence remained with the Ring." Ryou plucked at the Item. "But besides that, he is a warrior, and a thief, and the general of one of the greatest armies known to mankind. So yes, you can be unreasonable."

"To put it nicely." Bakura snorted.

"He took full control of my body for a couple years; I suppose I would have been like the host of a Goa'uld, a prisoner within my own body. I was mentally and physically tortured. A Goa'uld's influence is a powerful thing upon a mind, especially one that has been killed and imprisoned for five thousand years." Ryou sighed. "So I can't say I blame myself." He gave Bakura a tender smile.

The spirit snorted, "Funny, I still blame myself."

"I know you do." Ryou rolled his eyes. He looked to Sam, "You see, Samantha dear, we have this odd personality trait in which we live in eternal guilt, even though we like to believe in not living in guilt."

"Shut up." Bakura threw a book. Ryou snatched it out of thin air, casting it back at the spirit.

"I'm just saying you're a hypocrite."

"It's fascinating." Sam whispered.

She sensed both their gazes and was glad for the dim light as an unnatural flush touched her cheeks. Holy Hannah, she had not been this girlish since her Academy days. It was a terrible moment of realization that swamped over her as she grasped that the dim light really would not hinder Bakura's sight in the least.

"I…I mean…" Sam spluttered. She wished now for long hair, to at least hide behind. "This whole concept of a split soul, it is fascinating."

Ryou chuckled. "Well, if we end up collaborating, you will have plenty of time to study us."

Sam curled her legs under her, tucking herself into the couch. "I hope so."

Ryou sipped his tea, "I hope so too."

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In the new dawn light Ryou studied Samantha Carter as she lay curled on the couch, sleeping peacefully. He had laid a duvet over her when her heart beat had finally told him she had settled into a slumber she would not awaken from anytime soon. The coffee had apparently not been enough to keep away the call of exhaustion, or maybe Bakura had urged her into a resting state, though he had denied any such thing.

Somehow, he felt a small nibbling that his darker half might have just sung a silent lullaby, like the one from his memories that he could recall, that the spirit had so often sung to him during his most pitiful moments of illness or mortal deprivation.

Ryou breathed out deeply. Every inch of his skin prickled. It was so murderous, trying to keep away from the blood of a Human that entranced him so. Every soft flutter of her heart was just another wonderful rhythm of an alluring melody.

He tilted away, sinking his fingers into the lining of his chair.

"Careful, you'll break something."

Ryou snapped his head around. Bakura was sketching on a pad of paper, his knees tucked tightly up on the couch, attention firmly on whatever he was scribbling.

"This is not fair, I have never had to enforce this much self-control before." Ryou whispered. "I have always…I have always…been fine. What is wrong with me?"

Bakura brushed back his loose bangs. He settled his legs down, his eyes looking to the sleeping Samantha.

"There is nothing wrong with you; it's your soul, or more accurately, our soul." He pointed to the Ring with his pencil.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You're not seeing it because she's been reincarnated into a Caucasian." Bakura held out his hand. Ryou reached for it. The touch meant very little, for their was barely any sensation for Bakura in feeling his physical presence, but the brief pressure of their interlinked figures brought a resting peace over his pounding heart and he settled.

"Picture this—we've just returned from a long campaign, we've lost a lot of men, we're tired, dirty, bloody, we smell like rotting flesh. The Stargate behind us is shutting off, the glow faintly dying away. We don't care that our Pharaoh wants a war meeting, we don't care that the stupid priests want to heal our wounds, we just stumble through the Palace, following the sound of the water. It draws us to where the Nile reaches the Palace. Through the curtains, the parting ferns, she's wading in the water. Skin the color of burnt red sunset under the silk of her white gown, cupping her waist. Her gold was sparkling in the late noon, the jewels of royalty strung up around her bare chest. She always knew whenever we came home, that we would always need a bath…and the Nile…to her, the Mother Isis would wash away our pain."

Ryou blinked at tears on his lashes. The overwhelming strain on his heart was a crushing of the emotion from the encounter of the past, the presence of Bakura's merging. The picture was so clear, so beautiful and real that he could taste the lips, feel the touch, and sense the water around him. Bakura's hand around his squeezed tightly, breaking the memory.

"Oh my lord," Ryou stood in a fluster, staring at the sketch Bakura had set upon the table. It was a stunning, near photorealistic image of the only wife the ancient thief had taken. "Enkhtuya, one of Atemu's sisters…" He stared across to Samantha. Now awakened to it, he could see what he had not before. It was terrifying. His body felt weak, heavy, and nausea wept over him as his stomach knotted.

"You are saying…no…Bakura…no…she was our only wife, you never took another. After you died she…she ruled Egypt with Seth, our son ruled Egypt after Seth died. She could not have reincarnated! That would not be possible."

"Their Ib's match…"

Ryou felt his skin chill. He had not heard Bakura use that term since the Millennium World, since they had put behind them their past-life, the time when their soul had been ripped from their own flesh and forced into the Ring. He curled his hand around the Millennium Item, trying to calm his heart, and find his center. Maybe if he reached out, called upon the elementals in the air, he would be able to sense Samantha's heart and confirm it for himself.

No, he dared not do it.

Bakura whispered, "They are the same Ba, Ryou. Their soul is identical. I would know it anywhere. It would explain why you cannot take your eyes off her, and why I have the urge to protect her. It's a very unnatural feeling for me. Only usually happens about you or the damned pip-squeak."

"But it would not be possible!" Ryou hissed sharply. "Her soul could not have followed ours; she did not inherit Shadow abilities from her ugly, pathetic father." Now he was getting angry, having to stir up the memories, thinking of the old-man, that Pharaoh who had slain Bakura's tribe—their tribe—he shook himself off. No, it was not his life—he could not get the two of them mixed up, no matter what. He was Lord Ryou, Count of Avalon, bearer of the Ring, that was who he was, he was not Alekifa the Thief King, First Prime of Pharaoh Atemu.

Bakura leaned back, shaking his head. "Then there is only one explanation—she did, in fact, inherit Shadow abilities and they were simply dormant until the stressor of our death."

"But that does not explain how her soul could be born into the same time-line as mine."

Bakura shuffled uneasily, a left over signal of discomfort from his living days. "It is possible—"

"—she performed _it_, the _Binding_…that would be the only explanation. So our souls would have been together in the Afterlife…only…we had no Afterlife, that was our curse." Ryou clutched his cheeks, bending forward. He held back his tears. Warmth radiated from the Ring, spreading through his chest like an encasing hug. He managed a smile, peering through his strands of hair at Bakura. The spirit casually shrugged.

"It was her choice to follow us. Apparently she has kept up the whole, I'm a warrior, you cannot tell me what to do, thing she had going. Look at her, a Captain in the Airforce, typical." He snorted.

"She inherited our curse." Ryou bit his lips.

"So what? She loved us, we loved her. It was a hell of a lot more than the Pharaoh ever had, and I was damned that of glad. Maybe this way, we can make up for betraying her."

"Oh…Zorc…ever the thorn in our side." Ryou groaned, rising to his feet and stretching. He wandered to the window, peering out at the glow of the dawn. The city was already starting to awaken. He sucked in a deep breath, even now, the taste of blood was rich. He flinched and wrapped his hand around the Ring.

"Sometimes I think the gods are laughing at us, making me what I am and you what you are and now throwing this at us."

"If they are, then let us give them a very good show."

Ryou closed his eyes, sensing Bakura's shadows rise up from the floor around him, forming a solid shape. The spirit wrapped strong arms tight around his waist, admiring the view from the window with him.

"What do we do?" Ryou curled up against him.

"What we do best. We wait."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"I have the best."

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Yugi stared at the scissors in his hand and slowly back at Ryou's reflection in the mirror. He looked like a sodden puppy dog, just waiting to be punished for a crime he did not commit. It was heart breaking.

"I just can't do it." Yugi whined.

"Really?" Ryou looked surprised. If he had been that dog, his ears would have perked up in delight.

"Ryou, I've only known you with long white hair. I feel like its committing some kind of epic sin cutting it off. Like you'll lose all your super-powers or something horrible like that." Yugi collapsed back onto the rim of the bathtub. It had not occurred to him until this visit just how old-fashioned the little bathroom to the side of his bedroom had become over the years, the colors were suck in the eighties. He just imagined his grandfather never went into his bedroom, shutting it off until he and Ryou visited.

"I am not Samson, who will suddenly lose my strength because my hair has been cut."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ryou sighed, "Bible story from childhood, never mind. One of Bakura's favorites. It's just overly fitting for this. Well, if you cannot do it, then maybe we should get Yami in—"

"Oh, hell no." Yugi stood sharply, "We are going to a hair-dresser and we're doing this all proper."

"But Seto said we are not supposed to go and do our whole," Ryou raised his hands, making quotation marks with his fingers, "secret identity make-over, in public. It defeats the purpose."

"Seto can take it up with me. Hey, it'll be a perfect chance to take Sam and Daniel out and about. Sam wants to see more of Domino right? I get the feeling she's madly in love with this city."

Yugi sensed the obvious spike Ryou's heart-rate and the tint in his emotional state from his words. It was difficult to read, considering they both had training with Mahado to shield their minds, but his empathic skills still made it far easier to not just read the thoughts, but the feelings behind them. One could not shield feelings as easily as thoughts.

Ryou's eyes widened. "Yugi, do you just...did you word that entire sentence on purpose?"

Yugi scrubbed the back of his neck, "Ahhhh...maybe...okay, fine, I maybe...just maybe sensed a tad bit of your reaction to the Captain yesterday and I was overly curious to see if I was right in my assumption. Apparently I am. You were actually really, honestly flirting yesterday. I thought I was going mad. Did you even feel me grab your thigh and bury my nails into your skin?"

Ryou frowned. "No...I...when?"

"When you looked like you were going to eat the Captain alive."

Ryou gulped. "Oh."

"Yeah." Yugi held out the scissors, "I figured Bakura had a leash around your throat...but he was the one who reacted to me, not you. Might want to figure that one out, it was a really strange reaction. Also, why now, you have never batted an eyelid at anyone before! I swear, Malik and I have tired to get you hitched but we have failed! You've always complained about not wanting to break your vow and getting your teeth dirty, so what made you turn your head this time?"

Ryou gave a long sigh. "Should you not know this already?"

"I might, I can feel it in you, but I want you to put it into words." Yugi lifted his chin, "I want you to say it for your own sake."

"I...suppose...Bakura...believes that he never stopped being married, because he never felt like he died, so being married in one life carries over into this one. You do realize, that Bakura was a Thief King, he was insanely loyal to his people, his clan, his Pharaoh, and his woman. It makes me a very loyal person too. People seem to mistake Bakura for being this nasty, ugly fellow because he is a murdering warlord—when in fact, Yami is just as much a killer as he is, they were both slaughtering killers, just in very different ways."

Yugi narrowed his lips. He released his friend's arms and stepped back.

"I try not to think about it. If I don't think about it, I don't bring back the memories."

"Good way to deal with it." Ryou sighed.

"But stop distracting me." Yugi punched Ryou's chest, "If Bakura, and you, are so loyal…why now."

Ryou groaned, "Bakura...he believes she's the reincarnation of Enkhtuya."

"Atemu's older sister?" Yugi croaked out. How long had it been since he had heard that name? The mention of it conjured up the image of a tall woman, graceful and proud, wearing the jewels of royalty around glossy oiled shoulders and meeting the crest between beautiful breasts hidden only by a thin layer of loose silk. Her eyes had been so dark, so unlike Atemu's, far more akin to that of her mother's, but she had inherited the same Akhenamkhanen features that reflected in Atemu's high cheek bones and slender limbs.

"Are you sure?" He could not imagine Yami having not sensed his own sister's reincarnation in such close proximity to his own soul.

"She was our wife, Yugi, Bakura would know." The intensity of Ryou's sharp stabbing thrust of frustration sent Yugi reeling backward for a moment. Yes, true enough point. Marriage was a somewhat more physical bond than that of a half-brother and sister.

"Well, this is a bit of a surprise." Yugi slumped his shoulders.

"Surprise? It is disturbing! How am I supposed to react to this? Bakura and I have a good relationship, we are stable and strong, there is respect where once there was none...are the gods just mocking us, forcing us to confront more of our past. We betrayed someone dear to us, made her suffer and look…she performed a dangerous ceremony to bind her soul to someone who had passed into eternity—cursing herself unknowingly. What kind of horrible man am I?"

"Hmmm, I don't think you're seeing it quite from the right point of view." Yugi mused. "It's actually a rather nice romance story. You, the Ib, Bakura the Sheut and Sam and Ka…coming together again to reform. Maybe that is why Bakura felt my touch and not you."

"I do not think so, Yugi."

"I'm not kidding around." Yugi puffed out his cheeks, kicking Ryou hard. "Why are you not seeing this from a positive point of view, like a Light should! As a way to further your development, and improve upon your bond with Bakura, etc. etc. think about how much stronger the two you could become in you actually overcame that haunting shadow of your betrayal."

"We did overcome it—"

Yugi blew a rasp, "Yeah…keep having fun lying to yourself."

Ryou groaned, casting out his arms. Yugi missed them with a side step. "It just should not have been possible! She should not have been able to reincarnate. I know that Seto's Blue Eyes did, but she was a Blue Eyes."

Yugi leant back on the wall, shaking his head. "We always considered it might happen, right? I mean, my grandfather is the splitting image of Shimon, Atemu's vizier—Yami is convinced they are the same soul. He raised me in one life, it makes sense he would have made sure that he would have raised me in the next. He died fighting Zorc, to give us time…I like to think the Truth-gods gave him another chance to live a good, fulfilled life, and hey look, he took the Elixir. Now he won't die again, I hope."

"It is just a shock."

"You're going to get past it, Ryou. You always do."

"She has a very nice sounding heart beat."

"Let's not use that as a pick up line." Yugi smirked. He sensed the glare and shrugged. "Just saying."

"Do you think we will meet anyone else?"

"Anyone else from the past…I don't really know, it will always remain possible I suppose."

"Yami's wives…"

Yugi shook his head, "I highly doubt it. They all knew their roles," Yugi sat beside him, "and they played them so very well. I wish I could meet even one of them alive today, just to say thanks for sticking through with it and going down with a sinking ship."

Ryou sighed, "I still cannot believe they all died. The way they did. Those ships…I still see them burning in my dreams some nights." He frowned.

"Well, it wasn't called a Culling for no apparent reason." Yugi snorted. "When the Goa'uld want to cull a planet, they cull it. Oh, look a beautiful princess, let just kill her shall we so her Pharaoh husband gets really upset and chases us half way across the galaxy! Do you think these American's realize what they're up against?"

"No." Ryou scrubbed back his hair. "But I get the feeling that the galaxy we knew back then and the one out there now isn't the same one. The Goa'uld have become fat and lazy."

"Good, because Yami is really wanting some payback and I don't think I can do anything about it. If they're not prepared for him, then I won't hold him back."

"I honestly don't think we should hold them back, or ourselves." Ryou eased himself down, sitting upon the bathroom floor, back against the bathtub. "The Truth-god Re gave us this opportunity, I think we should seize it and make the most of it."

Yugi shook his head. Somehow it just felt wrong. He gazed at his hands, fiddling with his fingers. "I don't know Ryou, it's just…who are we supposed to rely upon to be _our_ balance. We're only Human too, you know. I know we're immortal, I know we're Lights, and yeah, you have alien bacteria in your blood—but we _are_ Human, as raw as we come. How are we supposed to keep two unhinged dark lords from tearing through the galaxy? What if we're not strong enough…"

There was a moment's silence. The bathroom was cool. It was peaceful between them both, in the pale, ugly yellow of the tiny, poky room. Yugi closed his eyes, drawing the undeniable strength he gained from the presence of his fellow Light. A small part of him hoped that maybe, just maybe, through the joining of others who fought for the future of Earth he would find more people to support him. His words betrayed him, it was not that he was not strong enough, he was, but all Humans needed help, needed companionship, and that sense of knowing that if falling, someone would be there to catch them.

"Trust in the bond we have with our other halves, Yugi." Ryou's steady voice cocked his head about, "They will not fail us."

Yugi smiled. "No, they won't." He skimmed down the edge of the bathtub, ending up beside Ryou on the floor. They must have looked like such an amusing pair of men, but who cared, honestly, they were perfectly content. This might have been the last time they would sit in the small little bathroom, admiring the terrible colors, smelling the odor of mold, feeling the coziness of the Game Shop, for a very long time.

"You do realize, Yugi, that Bakura does not know," Ryou eased his head back, staring at the ceiling, "about why Yami could not have children. He actually thinks it was because none of his wives liked him, or that, you know, he actually was not interested in women. It is very…difficult to keep a secret from yourself. Someday he will find out from me, I am sorry, but he will."

Well, Yugi mused inwardly, therein part lay a story he had been mortified to discover, the true life of Setkuen Atemu. Becoming one with your past-life, rediscovering past memories, it had not been the joy, the bliss, the adventure that his friends all thought it had been. Atemu had not had a wonderful, grand life of a little pampered prince. Being third in line for the throne, born of a Persian whore, there had not been many advocates for little prince Atemu and his brothers had not seen it fit to warn him of their own misfortunes at the hands of a mad father and a bitter uncle, who's desires were only for more wealth, more land, more power—more Shadows.

"It's alright, I figure if he does find out, he'll confront Yami and not me anyway. It's between them. We already worked it out between us. They're the one with the unresolved issues to work through. If they were not man enough to work it out five thousand years ago, they can do it now."

Yugi noticed Ryou's dark frown, "I do not think Bakura will take it lightly though. I wish Yami had…told him…it would have made their bond stronger. Given them a reason to, you know, hate the same man. They could have grown in revenge together."

"Atemu was not about letting revenge rule him, until his last few years."

Yugi shook his head. Little Atemu was never supposed to be Pharaoh in the eyes of the world—but maybe in the eyes of the gods he had always been the perfect choice, because of that one, terrible night scarred into flesh and bone forever.

Yugi flinched as Ryou's hand touched his shoulder. His fingers clawed around his ankles, still feeling the strong hands grasping them. Damn priests. He would feel eight years old forever in that accursed memory.

"I am sorry, Yugi, that you had to endure it without anyone knowing during the Millennium World."

"It's alright, really, it is part of what being the other half of a soul is about right? You had to experience Bakura's torture at the hands of the Goa'uld before Zorc consumed him. We both had to watch as our entire fleet burned, my wives died, my temples were sieged, and planets were destroyed. We lost everything. I don't think Joey and the others will ever truly know that when we came back from Millennium World, we came back with all that stuffed into our heads. Yami and Bakura never wanted to make us endure what they did, we were supposed to be free from that but…"

"It is a part of what makes us feel compassion—" Ryou sighed, "—when they feel rage."

Yugi nodded.

"But I know it still troubles you, and I am sorry for that."

"I've come to accept it really. I'm happy with what I have with Yami. I have all I need. I have the greatest thing anyone could ever desire." Yugi sighed, curling his knees tightly to his chest. "But I won't deny that the emotional scars still burn sometimes…I never actually thought…that you could carry something through reincarnation."

"Well, at least you only carried the emotional scars and not the real scars."

Yugi shuffled uneasily, narrowing his lips. "That is a fair enough point, but I still do not think I will ever have sex."

"It is far too over rated, and that, Yugi Motou, is coming from a Vampire." Ryou smirked, revealing his fangs. "And we live on it."

Yugi slapped his hand into the English lord's face, shoving him firmly onto the bathroom floor. "You just called yourself a Vampire."

"Only in jest, your moron, do not clamber all over me! Get off!"

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_Hey guys, so thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the update. I will do my utmost best to get the next one up as soon as possible! I'm writing it as quickly as I can! :D So fingers-crossed. I'm trying to update some of the other stories as well. Once I get back into writing full-time hopefully that will pick up as well. Can't wait! Whoooo!_

_Keep well,_

_Hugs,_

_Thank you for your ongoing support!_

_You're all super ^^_


	7. GoDR Episode 6 - The Goa'uld

_Hey everyone, an update! Yay! I hope this new episode finds you all well, my dearest readers. And hello to all the new followers/readers, welcome aboard. I am so honored by your presence. Thank you, and to those who are still here since way back, thank you for still holding on. _

_All things considered, life is currently full of lots of writing for Book 2 of my series even though, yes, Book 1 'KEY' isn't even out yet. What is holding it up? The Front Cover – yep – that's it – apparently. Gah. Gah. Oh gosh. Oh well. It. Will. Eventually. Happen. I Know. It. Will. _

_So I am trying very hard to make sure that this delay will not happen with Book 2! Thus, the cover art for Book 2 will be finished way before I even finish writing/editing Book 2, LOL. It looks fabulous by the way, I've been working with the new cover-artist and wow. Wow. Wow. Mind blown. Picture giant, epic volcano and super awesome alien technology…yeah…aliens...cause you know me, I LOVE little green people XD_

_Anyway, I don't want to stop writing fanfiction, because it's one of my loves, thus, here is an update! I hope it is worthy of the wait and hopefully, another one will be coming along soon. I would love your feedback, it keeps me going through all this mayhem with my publishers and just knowing people read anything I write gives me hope. So thanks guys, thank you so much! I couldn't ever have come this far in what I do without your support and your encouragement._

_I write for you! So thanks, from the bottom of my heart. _

_Keep smiling folks,_

_Love,_

_KL_

**Episode Six: The Goa'uld **

Yugi could recall the days when the sky-train system had been a new feature in Domino. He had been, maybe seventeen. Still in those last few years of high-school, just freshly free of the 'save-the-world' situations and settling into the swing of having Yami around for good.

It had made life in the City of Games a lot easier, just by the sheer fact that it was a fast mode of transport that shot you around town like a bullet. It was also a pretty good tourist attraction, giving folks a decent view of the beautiful place he called home.

Kaiba Corp. was behind its instillation and continued to build upon the magnificent train that wove between buildings and high rises, looking as though it floated in mid-air as it zipped about above the traffic. It's network had now expanded out into the suburbs and practically anyone could use it, though it had not fully replaced the automobile, it was good for students and the major city commute into the core of Domino's tight hub.

Yugi smiled, staring out the glossy surface of the holographic window panel, studying the cityscape to catch glimpses of the sea between the skyscrapers. Duelist City now used the sky-train as a major way for young duelists to get from point A to point B, if only it had existed when he had been dueling his little heart out; life would have been so must easier.

The window screen lit up with a soft flashing and he blinked, catching the advertisement for female underwear over the holographic display. He slapped his hand over it, watching the pixel's scatter at the impact.

Across from him Daniel glanced up, looking oddly perplexed.

"I wish we had this kind of technology." The archeologist sighed.

"I am sure that if the SGC agrees to let us work with you, Seto will be happy to share some of his secrets." Yugi flicked a finger at the window screen, choosing a selection of adverts not aimed at teenagers.

"Look at this, look at it, Daniel." Sam suddenly sat down beside Daniel, holding out her hand and revealing a Duel Monster card on her palm. Standing aloft it was a small holographic display of the shadow-monster, Dewloren, King Tiger of the Ice Barrier.

Yugi chuckled inwardly, looking up at Ryou, _/An interesting choice for her, did the Ring make you choose that, or did she?/_

_/She did. Not surprised though. She owned a tiger in her past life./_

Yugi flat-lined him with a stare, _/Seriously? My half-sister owned a tiger?/_

_/Yugi, you gave it to her./_

_/Man, I have so got to meditate and remember more. I want a tiger…/_

Ryou eased down into the seat beside Yugi.

"One of the new range of cards?" Yugi lifted his brow, "You found one?"

"The next cart over has a booth selling them. Sam was curious about the holographic technology behind them. I am afraid that though I helped fund the project, I actually do not know much about it. I do believe it is some new form of paper that interacts with light, and it is some kind of crystal chip, but I honestly would not have a clue." Ryou shook his head.

The Captain did not look the least bit phased. "I have one now, I can take it back to the SGC and study it. It is like this is another planet!"

Yugi held back his laugh. She was so bright, like Daniel seeing a piece of ancient pottery that could mark the date of Human existence on another planet to predate the Goa'uld. Oh, they were all such a good bunch of people, all getting excited about the right kind of things. Everything was right about the world in this perfect moment, looking out across Domino from the sky-train.

Something caught his eye. He sat up straight, pointing.

"Oh, there it is, look, look! See, that's Duelist Academy! It is a school Seto has set up to find young people for our Star-fleet."

"Your…Star-fleet?" Sam's eyes widened.

Yugi flashed a grin. "Yeah, Star-fleet…for our star-ships that we'll someday, hopefully, have."

Sam puffed back her bangs, "If we don't end up collaborating, I may end up requesting a transfer." She laughed.

Daniel elbowed her playfully, "Don't you worry. I have full confidence everything will turn out fine. I think I may even have a chance to see my wife again." His eyes shined.

Yugi caught the tightening of hope within the archeologist. It was like a tiny sun, inside his soul, slowly growing, being cultivated into a supernova. He reached out with his empathic touch, stroking the sweet little ray of hope.

It pained him. That hope was so precious. It kept Daniel walking, talking, breathing—it was his reason to exist; the desire to see his beloved wife again. He rather imaged it was just like his desire to always love Yami, to always feel his other self near him, with him and around him. Having Yami torn from him, he would never survive it. How strong Daniel was, to believe and hope that he would see his beautiful other-half again.

Yugi closed his eyes, cupping the tender emotion closer. If he could do anything, anything at all, he earnestly yearned that somehow he would help reunite Daniel with his beloved, for no man deserved to be alone. He, of all people, knew that so very well.

Ryou's hand settled upon his knee, squeezing it tightly. He peaked open an eye.

"Our stop is coming up."

Yugi yawned, stretching. He flopped onto Ryou's shoulder. "Carry me, I am too tired to walk."

"I am not carrying you, you are the one who wanted to do this, remember."

Yugi groaned, sliding down into Ryou's lap. "Yami kept me up the whole night, he was all jittery and excited about seeing the Stargate again. I swear, I could have stuffed a pillow into his face and suffocated him if it would have done any good."

"That, Yugi Motou, is what you get for not kicking your Dark out of your Soul-Room. You see, Bakura and I have a schedule." Ryou touched his chest, looking smug.

Yugi blew a rasp. "Where is the romance in that?"

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder. You should try it."

"You're an old fart."

"Get off my lap."

"Make me."

Ryou pulled out his mobile. "I have Joey's number on speed-dial. Shall I tell him about Serenity getting married—"

"Don't you dare!" Yugi leapt up, "Oh, hell will freeze over before I sit through that! Look, our stop, how convenient."

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The mall was a serene place. Sam had half expected it to be a busy, turmoil filled shopping complex full of the worst type of Humanity's desire to over compensate, instead, upon arrival, it was a neat, structured environment that blended the Domino feel of nature and modern technology into a clean, crystal world.

Ryou and Yugi pointed out the new sections, comparing them to the old that had not suffered due to the earthquake. She marveled at their tales of just how the city had endured, and of Seto's incredible force to get the city back onto its feet. The more they spoke of the young businessman, the more she had the itching desire to meet him—even if they said he was not the most social of fellows.

She now sat outside the hair salon, beside Yugi and Daniel, staring at the entrance in a rather odd form of endurance. Ryou had entered looking like a moping child told to clean his room, with great whoops of encouragement from Yugi.

Even still, a small part of her was gutted that the two of them were being forced to look entirely different. Daniel had tried to describe Yugi's hair before he had dyed it black but only after he had pulled out a photo on his mobile had she truly believed its natural tricolors.

What would Ryou look like with short brown hair? He was an albino, his skin was so pale and soft, his eyes an eerie pastel. How he walked about in daylight without burning confused her but no one seemed to pay that any mind.

"Does he really have to cut it?" Sam glanced to Yugi.

"Makes him stand out in a crowd, our enemies know him far too well the way he currently looks. Trust me, he's looked like that for years." The light smirked. "I might decide to whip out a new wardrobe look every few months but Ryou's like a boring old sod. Mind you, he did go through a phase in high school in which he wore these really fabulous tight jeans, all different shades. Mark my words, the girls loved it, so did I." He cracked a grin. "I've never let him live it down. He has the most amazingly shaped backside." His hands moved, making a shape, "Actually, that whole lower part of his body is pretty good. Trust me, I have seen him naked." He cracked a grin at her hot cheeks. It was made all the more uncomfortable at how young he looked, staring up at her with his large, round eyes all bright and dashing.

"Captain, lighten up. Come on, smile at my hilariousness." He kicked her shin playfully. "You're worse than I am when Yami and I are in public together. He's all like, imposing and increadible and I'm this tiny speak of dust on his shoe who just blushes all the time, but I have a winning smile."

She had to give him that. If Helen of Troy was here today, she was positive that Yugi Motou would be the one who could launch those ships instead, with just a smile.

"You have enemies…." Sam mused.

"We've been around." Yugi shrugged. "Daniel thought relocating to America would help, and with you guys having the Stargate, it all fitted together."

She nodded. It did not fit well with her though, knowing that there were others out there, somewhere, who wanted what they wanted. These young men who knew things, more than they had ever known about the Stargate and Earth's history—who on this planet could be their enemies, would they not then be enemies of the SGC as well?

Yugi seemed reluctant to speak on it more and Daniel was very much not going to breech the topic. She was going to have to let it go. She would find out eventually, some way or another, it would come around the bend when it was time.

Daniel's attention snapped around, he stood taller, slapping Yugi's back like he was an old buddy. Yugi hooted out a laugh, making a whistle as Ryou exited the salon, looking terribly shamed faced with a hot rosiness to his cheeks.

His white hair was gone.

Yugi clapped, leaping over to his friend. "See! What did I tell you, they did a much better job that I ever could. Took them a couple hours, but hey, I dragged Daniel into a Game Shop and Sam got to see a real Duel! So who cares."

"I look awful." Ryou swept back the short brown bob-cut. Sam wondered if it was long enough to be tied back, in theory, possibly. She doubted he would have let it be cut any shorter than it was. She could barely recall the day she had went into the Air-force Academy and had her long blond hair snipped off to what it was now.

"Oh, come off it, Ryou." Yugi ruffled his friend up happily, pinching his sides, "On behalf of Bakura," the light placed a hand over his heart, "Sweet Mother Isis, I have a handsome land-lord. Now both his top and his bottom are equally as good looking."

"Shut up Yugi." Ryou groaned, "It is utterly the worst thing since skinny-jeans."

Yugi shook his head, going serious "Honestly, Ryou, you look fine. You'll get used to it, you will!"

Ryou sighed, "It's hideous. Bakura is going to throw a fit of laughter."

Sam took his arm, "All you need is a matching scarf."

"I appreciate that, Samantha, thank you for trying to make me feel like a half decent man."

Yugi spun on his heels, "I think ice-cream is in order. Domino's finest."

It was marvelous, Sam figured, to be in a job that enabled her to meet people as fascinating as Daniel Jackson, Yugi Motou and Ryou Bakura. To have ice-cream in the heart of a city built on the shoulders of a rich young man who's goal was apparently to conquer the skies. What a life she now lived—if only her father—no—she would not go there—her father could continue to ignore her existence.

Yugi slid the ice-cream toward her, startling her. His hand, cold from holding the cup, brushed her bare arm. The shine in his unnerving eyes, such an alien color of jewels, reflected for a moment the intensity of her strange recollection of her father. He smiled briefly, pointing to the ice-cream on the marble table-top.

"It will melt." He stuck a spoon into his own cup, giving a grin. She had no choice but to smile. Now it was clear, the change that had accrued in Daniel. Any time in this young man's presence and anyone would begin to feel like they were the center of the universe in his eyes.

"Thank you."

"Pleasure is all mine, I have not shared ice-cream with a beautiful woman in a long, long time. Ryou on the other hand, gets all the ladies."

"Oh, put a cork in it, old fellow." Ryou found a seat in the large food court, dragging it over, joining them at the table. "Yami chases all the girls away, admit it."

Yugi slouched back, somehow looking decently imperial about it as he did so. He licked his spoon before waving it about in the air. "I thought he got them all, being the taller, darker and more handsome one of me?"

"He's what, a couple inches taller than you? Don't think that counts, Yugi." Daniel joined them. Sam noted he had a drink, as well as an ice-cream. He had apparently been here before and was entirely fine with the noise and the glistening environment.

"What do you know, you're a geek." Yugi snorted in play.

"We all are." Ryou sat up straighter, "All this brain power, we might be able to turn on a light-bulb!"

Sam rolled her eyes.

Daniel pulled up his knapsack, setting it on his lap. He rumbled about, setting out files of photos. "Or, solve the riddle of the tablet to the Cities of Dawn."

Yugi's eyes widened in delighted rapture, "Ohhh, yes, give me."

"What, here now?" Sam peered around, "But we're in public."

"The public don't care. Trust me," Yugi chewed on the end of his spoon, "Ryou and I poured over things that would make you faint in here and no one ever looked twice at us. We just looked like two museum dusted fellows out for ice-cream and a break." Yugi tapped out a pen from his wallet and flipped open a small notebook, his face going vacant as his attention turned to what was in front of him. Sam shook her head. He and Daniel now shared that same, glazed look of passion for the unknown, the quest of knowledge and the desire to uncover what secrets the language before them held.

Ryou chuckled beside her, scraping out the last of his ice-cream. "Would you like me to tell you the story of the time Yugi and I went tramping into the Amazon to uncover a lost artifact?"

Sam propped her chin upon her hand, giving a smile. "Sounds like an adventure."

"Oh, indeed it was. I almost lost a few limbs. We near drowned in quick-sand. Ghastly stuff." He eased back, rubbing the sides of his face as if warding off exhaustion. She wondered if he had slept at all after seeing her the latter night.

"It was our first year out of high-school, we were, oh…nineteen, almost twenty. I had laid my father to rest and we had come to terms with our desire to find the Stargate. We knew it was going to be a difficult task ahead of us, so, with Seto backing us, we began our exploration to uncover things we knew of. Bakura and Yami were somewhat helpful, but a lot of what we did was left up to us, to interpret signs left by the descendants of the civilizations that came after the Goa'uld left earth. After the Stargate and the Shadows were sealed, the descent of technology was rather rapid. Space-travel unraveled like a string, and in very little time, humanity fell into chaos."

Ryou was staring at the ceiling.

"So what were you looking for?"

"The Amazon grew over a very fertile land that had not always been a forest, once it had been the land of a very rich civilization that had thrived off of both wind and hydro energy. Their cities had been beautiful, but the collapse of their empire had been devastating and…terrible. A plague struck them. It wiped them out."

"How do you know this?" Sam frowned.

Ryou glanced her way, "We have records. You'll learn eventually where they come from." He smiled knowingly.

"The plague was not natural. Yugi and I went searching for one of their Temples, hoping beyond hope to find at least one of their old ships to bring back to Seto. We uncovered the ship, a small glider, and Bakura actually managed to fly the bothersome thing out of there but we barely made it out of the Temple alive. Damn sky-gods and their little tricks. Making an entire chamber of dimensional light rifts and forcing two dark lords to walk through it creates a fissure you don't want to see."

He expanded his hands, waving them about. "Lord on high, I thought we were going to be torn apart by the cosmos, but no," he touched a finger to her nose, "my dear Bakura is the best pilot in the Upper and Lower Kingdoms. Through the caving rocks, water and debris he channeled that little glider up, up and up into the sky…and crashed it into a bloody lake. Took us a month to fish it out again but we had fun going back to the ruined temple and pulling everything apart." Ryou pulled up his sleeve, revealing a faint scar. "We managed to find the remains of what caused the plague…only our records were wrong, it was not a plague…"

Her interest was now full curiosity, "What was it?"

Ryou ran a finger over the faint scar. "A terrible thing…something we left buried there."

"Ryou, what was it?"

He smiled, "I honestly do not know, it was a some kind of plant. Afterwards, in my report to Seto, I simply decided to call it, a Triffid, after the civilization it wiped out." He clenched his fist.

"Do you think it was extra-terrestrial?" Sam touched his hand.

Ryou stirred, "Have not got the foggiest." He laughed, "But it was our first adventure, so we were a bit shook up over it."

"Ryou, does this make any sense to you?" Yugi interrupted, "Enter, oh child of mine, through the weeping breasts of the Mother, to reach therein the sacred passage of the Great Eye, the Universe, the Expanding, the Upward Climb you must take through the Golden Bells." The young man peered over the rims of his glasses.

Ryou scratched his stubble, holding out a hand for the scribbled notes and the photographs. Yugi handed them over. Sam watched in fascination as Ryou skimmed over them thoughtfully. He glanced back at Daniel and Yugi, pointing to the Goa'uld markings on the photographs.

"Weeping breasts, could mean river, in reference to Mother, usually meaning Isis, the River Nile goddess. Breasts, two," Ryou held up two fingers, "two rivers."

Yugi leant back, "I suppose, but we're talking about another planet, we can't just presume they're talking about the same rivers, or the same humanoid species."

"Until we have proof otherwise, my dear Yugi, don't presume otherwise." Ryou cast the paper down, raising an eyebrow, "Your take on it then?"

"Great Eye, follow the sun…passage of the Great Eye, talking about some kind of ritual involving the sun, I don't know…or it could be an actual passage, like a hidden hallway revealed only by the sun. Then again, the Great Eye could be in reference to Horus, the child of Re?"

Daniel narrowed his lips, "Maybe in reference to one of the Truth-gods, right? The aliens who the Goa'ulds stole the identity's of?"

"I don't know much about your field, boys," Sam muttered, "but I do know that there is a theory of the universe expanding…maybe they're asking you and keep an open mind?" She offered with a smile. "Because Golden Bells, what could that mean?"  
"Mountains." Yugi shrugged, "I'd say mountains."

"Mountains, Gandalf, Mountains." Ryou mimicked.

Yugi and Daniel laughed softly, until Yugi gave a bitter groan, folding forward like a limp doll, "And that's only the first line! We're in for a ride." He held out a hand to Daniel and the archeologist slapped it playfully.

"We'll solve it." Daniel assured aloud. Sam was sure it was more to himself than to Yugi, there was no doubt in her mind that Yugi was abundantly confident in his abilities, at least, he gave that impression outwardly. Daniel she had come to understand worried so deeply over never saving his wife, his entire being was now devoted to that one task—if this helped him in any way, she would pour herself into it as well. She wanted him to find that beautiful alien woman too.

A happy Daniel made a happy Jack and a happy Jack, well, that made a happy Samantha Carter.

Yugi was doing it again, smiling at her, with that strange knowing smile, as if he could read anything she was thinking and feeling. Was her blank face an open book to him?

Oddly enough, the thought was reassuring, not threatening. It should have been threatening, horrifying, and yet, who could feel threatened by that endearing, gentle gaze other than the worst kind of cruel, terrible evil in the universe.

"This has been nice," Sam stared around the mall, admiring the throng of humanity that she had not immersed herself in for such a long time, "for a change."

"Life should be full of small changes, it keeps things interesting." Yugi tapped his spoon on his lips, he sounded as though he was regarding her and Daniel in that equation. "Mind you, we're in for a rather large one. What is America like?" He chuckled, easing back into his seat.

"You have never been to America?" Sam glanced at them both. It was hard to believe that in all their travels, neither of the young men had been to America.

"Never had to go, no reason, though I have good friends living there, but I've never really given much regard to intruding upon their lives."

"Hmmm, yes, things always seem to happen when we turn up, best not to endanger the children." Ryou folded his hands neatly together, "I much rather be an uncle from a distance and send fancy gifts from afar than to be chided for have a world ending disaster having around my nephews."

Sam sighed, "I rather know how that feels, having estranged family."

"Join the club." Daniel sipped his drink.

"Oh, yes, I will join you as well." Ryou sunk back into his chair, "Though my old-man was knocked-off a couple years ago, so I suppose I do not have to bother with the sod any longer. He was a real dick, pardon my language, dear." Ryou flashed an apologetic smile toward Sam. "Bakura would have knifed him if he had not been my old man. Actually…come to think of it, had he not died when he did, I am pretty sure Bakura would have actually killed him."

Sam frowned, trying to equate a knife welding father-murderer with the lazy, medical journal reading man she had been speaking to the night before. These Darks, were they really this dangerous? She bit back a gulp of saliva, wondering what that could possibly mean.

"Your father could not have been that terrible?" Sam dared not look across at Ryou.

"Depends on your definition and where you stand in the world I suppose. He was a criminal to some, to others he may have been a hero, to many he was a learned teacher, too me he was a monster."

Sam could only look at Ryou's hands, they interlinked on the table surface, twitching.

"Which, considering I live with the darkness of a human soul, is saying something."

"True enough." Daniel offered.

"Yugi?" Ryou suddenly sat up straighter in his chair, startling Sam. The conversation was gone, Ryou's attention snapping about to Yugi who had retreated in on himself. His eyes had glaze over and he had turned limp like a doll. Reaching over the table and catching his friend's free hand Ryou squeezed them tight. Yugi's free grasp was on his chest, holding fast to the Puzzle against his chest. Sam cringed, recalling the alien device, Yami had called it his body, the object that held his half of their soul. What was wrong with it?

"The Shadows, they're panicking. Ryou, something has entered my circle."

"The Illuminati?" Daniel looked pale all of a sudden.

Yugi shook his head. "No. They would never risk something this public. Ryou, how wide is your circle, I'll expand my—"

"Get down!" Ryou smashed the table upward, flipping it as shield as a rain of staff-blasts gunned down upon them. They all hit the ground as dust and smoke plumed into the air from the butchered floor. Yugi shouted over the screams and howls of confusion.

"What the hell! Are those Jaffa? I felt Jaffa! Why didn't I pick up the Goa'uld in them?"

"Staff-blasts!" Sam replied, "We're being fired at with staff-blasts. Ryou, how did you bring down the table, it's bolted to the floor—"

"From this moment onward, let us just pretend that I have super-powers shall we." Ryou snapped off a metal leg of a chair, sharpening the tip into a fine point with his fingers. "Yugi! Where did they come from?"

"I have no idea, but they're going to kill civilians if they keep this up. Can…can anyone get an idea where they are coming from? We have got to draw them away from the people."

He was right, this was chaos. Sam coughed back the smoke. The screams from the patrons of the mall near drowned out their voices. The Goa'uld had never made a move on Earth before? So why now, and how had they even come past without anyone knowing?

"Can you make out who's Jaffa they are?" Yugi shouted, looking to Daniel.

"I think it's…I think they're Apohois."

"Apophis?" Sam squeaked as a staff-blast came over head, she curled up. "He would not directly attack us!"

"Daniel, where did you find that tablet?" Yugi was unzipping his knee high boots, pulling out two small pistols. He threw one to Sam. She caught it.

"I figure you know how to use that, Captain." Yugi shouted.

Something told her he was just as practiced as she.

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"Tell me, have you ever heard of the planet Tralire?" Yami slid into a seat beside Jack, watching the man gulp down the bacon and eggs before him. He supposed a late breakfast was better than none at all.

"Nope, do they have space-guns there?" Jack smiled hopefully.

"Well, maybe not space-guns, but I seem to recall leaving behind a fleet of ships." Yami glanced to Bakura, who had sat himself down near Teal'c, "Don't you?"

"Oh, you arse! That was not my fault. It was a retreat, okay, a retreat!"

"You ran away with your tail between your legs."

"No, I retreated." Bakura snarled.

"You left behind eighteen ships!"

"I hid them."

"Eighteen ships, Bakura! Eighteen!"

"What? Would you have rather me given them to the Goa'uld, like you so graciously did during the Battle of Duri-avli, heh? Heh? Suck it up, Pharaoh, at least I managed to get all my men out of there!"

"Duri-avli was an entirely different story," Yami snorted, folding himself back neatly with a tilt to his chin, "we were cornered, I had no choice."

"There is always a choice." Bakura rolled his eyes. "You just didn't follow your gut. You listened to Seth, you should have always listened to me. Remember, me, your gut, Seth, your brain. The two things don't mix."

Yami batted Bakura's hand aside. "See, that is why that battled failed, I had the two of you yelling at me like morons. I should have thrown you both at the Goa'uld, that would have been a great battle strategy."

Jack sipped his coffee, "Know the gate address of this planet."

"I know many gate addresses." Yami clapped his hands, a heavy, well-worn leather journal landing upon the table in a scatter of shadows. "Yugi's journal, he gets flashes of my memories and copies down whatever takes his fancy. He at least can sort out what I cannot." He flipped it open. Yugi had not always been such a little scholar. He had never really done particularly well at school, always only ever coming in average despite being rather brilliant. His mind had always and only ever been elsewhere, beyond the stars or on games and the delight that it brought to him. He had slowly grown into his academic love, and then the journals had begun. Yami was positive it had become a way of sorting out their conjoint minds, the thoughts they both thought together. It was Yugi's way of making sure he remained a separate entity, an individual in his own right.

It was his own, private thing. It was a Yugi thing.

Finding the section Yami spun the journal around, tapping the penned scribbles. "There, gate address."

"Far out…you guys are for real." Jack almost looked like he was going to spit his coffee out. Yami rolled his eyes.

"You still do not believe them, Colonel-O'Neill." Teal'c looked confused.

"Yeah…I'm getting there, T-buddy."

Yami smiled, "It is a lot to take in, Colonel, I understand."

"Hey, hey," Jack waved his hands about, "I had my brain stuffed full of gate-addresses in which I apparently typed into our data-base. I have no problem with this other-half boyfriend thingy apparently remembering them from some…wacky past-life mumbo jumbo voodoo whatever. This is an everyday occurrence, right Teal'c."

"Indeed."

Yami shook his head. Right.

It came. It was a small nibble, like a speck of dust just grating on the side of an eyelash, instead it was bothering his Shadows, then the alarms flared in his head. Yugi was calling.

"Bakura…did you…" Yami stood, sensing the ripple through the Shadow Realm. The Puzzle was reacting to a threat in the proximity of Yugi.

"I did." Bakura was on his feet. "They're in danger."

"What?" Jack looked between them both. "Who's in danger?"

"The Lights." Yami grabbed the man's hand, "The Lights are in danger, sorry Colonel, you're about to travel first class."

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First class his hairy butt-cheeks. Jack yelped as he was thrown forward, skipping like a pebble on a pond. He could a sworn he was being flung across the floor on full-throttle, only, he was not in any way moving. He was stationary, staring at the Pharaoh's red eyes, enveloped in a world of milky black. It shot him back to that terrible place, the pitiful gloom of depression, the awful moment right after Charlie—his son—the gun—NO—he could not go there.

As suddenly as it had begun, he was wrenched out of it, light flooded through his body, pouring into his skin, dispelling the horrible chill in his veins. The Pharaoh's grip on his wrist tightened and he could swear the voice in his mind was a strong, empowering warmth.

_I am so sorry, I had no idea you lost your first born. _

Heavens, it was powerful, that voice. The force behind it was like a jet-engine trapped inside of a tiny little, well, he guessed it was trapped inside of that funny piece of upside-down gold pendent thing the kid wore. The voice, it knew the same depression, the same gloom he had choked back—it knew the same desire to want nothing more than to die.

Jack stared at the short little man—spirit—thing—how in the blazes did it know about Charlie? Scrap that, of course it knew. x

Yami spun about, "Yugi's in trouble."

Jack glanced around. They were no longer in the Game Shop. This was a shopping complex and somewhere in the distance he could hear gunfire and the impossible sound of staff-blasts. Teal'c had obviously noticed the impossible noise too, because he was already running head on in the direction of it, with Bakura hot on his tail.

Yami clapped on him on the back.

"Come on!" the Pharaoh shouted.

"Couldn't you have landed us closer?" Jack snapped back.

Yami cracked a laugh, "To much interference with the Shadows. My physical form would phase out while in mid teleport and trap you in the Dark Dimension. Not fun."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Jack felt around his jacket, mentally cursing, "No weapons." He watched as screaming civilians poured out through doors, an alarm was whirling throughout the complex. Jack crouched down beside Teal'c and Bakura, amused that the Pharaoh simply leant casually upon the wall, arms folded.

"Jaffa," Teal'c's brow narrowed, "I believe they are of Apophis."

"How the hell did they get here, on Earth?" Jack spluttered.

"That is a good question, Colonel-O'Neill, to which I have no answer." Teal'c turned to Bakura, "Can you communicate with your Light?"

Bakura held out his hand, "He would like to inform us that we are all a bunch of lazy morons who need swift kicks up our stinking backsides for being late to the party and please, dear lord, will we get a move on."

"Nice. I like him." Jack flashed a grin.

Yami chuckled, "Oh, you haven't met him when he's really angry. Come on then, let's crash this party."

"Hey, no gun?" Jack waved at himself.

Something was thrust into his grasp. Bakura leered at him, "It will work for as long as you believe it does."

Jack gaped at the weapon, it kind of looked normal. It did not feel normal in his hand, it felt too cold. No, he did not like this one bit, but okay, it was a gun, that he could use. "What is this?"

"Shadow Magic." Bakura smashed down the door with a foot, the glass rained down around him as he spun, spreading his hands. The oozing black liquid from the floor spewed up, becoming bladed vines around him, "What nightmares are made of, and you, Jonathon O'Neill are about to get a crash course."

Bakura spun, vanishing into the large chaotic hall beyond.

Jack sighed, giving Teal'c a wave. "Follow him I suppose. He apparently seems to know a thing or two about Jaffa. The Pharaoh and I will deal with the screaming people. I wish someone would shut off this damn alarm! Seriously. What will make this worse is if the fire system—"

Yami slapped a hand over his mouth, "Don't you dare say it or you'll jinx it and set it off and drown us all."

Teal'c gave them both a confused look before he too, left them. Jack grumbled and Yami released him.

"You believe in jinx's?"

"You don't?" The Pharaoh looked as though he was counting something, or analyzing. He was looking very Daniel like with his folded brow and contemplative expression. Jack blew a rasp. Quickly, he had to think quickly, and say something now or this spirit-thing would act just like Daniel and blurt something stupid out.

"Alright, our goal," Jack waved his hands, "get these people out safely."

"I agree." Yami nodded. "Give me a tick, I'll get us some help."

Jack staggered back a few steps as the Pharaoh held out his hands. A swell folded across the marble floor, the black liquid of doom spewed up, and suddenly, two solidly formed, huge blokes who he could have sworn had walked right out of a fantasy movie or a Dungeons and Dragons game were standing in the door way.

Damn. The Pharaoh was really short next to them. Not that he seemed to notice or anything. The little king's sharp tone barked out, "Dark Magician, Celtic Knight…we need to herd everyone out of food court."

Okay. Dude in a purple robe and a giant elf-guy with a sword—now he had really seen everything. Scrap the aliens. This was cool.

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If there was one lucky thing about this entire scenario, Yugi could vouch for it being that it had happened on a weekday, not on a weekend and not after school hours. It was a lovely weekday, midmorning, when the food court was relatively void of its usual flood of people. He could see through the dust kicked from the staff-blast fire that shattered the marble flooring and the stone pillars of the auditorium that those who had not ducked for cover under their tables had made a run for it through the large exit doors as the alarms flared loudly.

Ever since the earth-quake that had brought Domino to its knees, getting the hell out of buildings was a pretty useful skill to have.

Sam was skilled with a gun, that he had to admit. She had gunned her way through to a group of mothers with their prams at a table, and was issuing them strict orders on how to wind their way out of the hot zone.

Yugi pressed himself against a pillar, peering out to watch as two score Jaffa stalked around the large fountain in the center of the food court. They were searching, in a formation that gave away a pattern that they were observing their surroundings and in part, ignoring the civilians that did scramble away from them.

"They're looking for us," Daniel whispered beside him.

Yugi nodded. "The tablet, please for the love of the gods, tell me it's back at the Game Shop."

"Ah…no…"

"Daniel!" Yugi hissed, turning sharply to gape him. "You brought it with you!? I thought you just had photos. Is this why Jack wants to hit you half the time? Because you do this to him?"

"Well, it's safer with me right?"

"No! It's safer at the Game Shop, around Yami's Shadows. Ah, dear sweet mother of space aliens." Yugi made a strangling motion. "Daniel!"

"What, you think they're after it? That they know about it...how is that even possible, I've had it for months," the archeologist denied.

"I don't know." Yugi puffed out his cheeks, forcing himself to calm. He needed a level head. Actually, what he needed was herbal tea and a hot bath.

Sam and Ryou finally reached the safety of the nearby column. Sam had not yet noticed the wound Ryou was expertly hiding and he wondered how much longer the English lord was going to be able to do so. They shared a glance. Taking a staff-blast to the stomach usually ended someone's life, and Yugi highly doubted he wanted Sam to know anything about his remarkable stamina just yet.

Ryou moved. Sam looked mildly confused at the action, but she followed and they were together once more.

Yugi felt himself smothered by Ryou's far larger frame and laid his hands upon his fellow Light's chest.

\Does it hurt?\

\Not too bad, I will be fine. It was a good shot, whoever aimed it.\ Ryou replied.

\Bakura is not going to be pleased.\

\He's already in a bad mood,\ Ryou's heavy mental sigh was layered with a prickle of warmth. Yugi took it as a good sign. Bakura was near-by, that could be the only explanation for that warmth.

"Where is Bakura?" He gestured.

"Isn't he back at the Game Shop?" Sam whispered.

Ryou's lips spread into a snaky smirk, no longer that of the young lord. Yugi tensed as the arm around him tightened in a far more possessive manner. Fudging balls. No. They did not just—Yugi pouted.

"Bakura." Yugi tipped his chin up.

"Thought I would join the party, Pip-squeak. I'll get the Doctor out of here; you and Sam make a little noise will you?"

"Sure, but Yami will kick your butt for this." Yugi unhooked his gun from its hoister.

"He can kiss it as much as likes." Bakura grabbed Daniel by the shoulder. "Because it's all he ever sees. Come on, little-doctor, Teal'c is waiting. Pip-squeak, make it to that door over there and you're in the all clear." Bakura motioned beyond the fountain.

Yugi nodded. "But what are we supposed to do with all the Jaffa?"

"I figure Seto will be here in about anther ten or so minutes." Bakura glanced at the watch on Ryou's wrist, "When that happens, the priest's lackies will kill every walking tin-can on sight."

"Super. Let's not get caught up in that shall we." Yugi motioned to him. "Go, go, get Daniel away. We'll distract them. I'm handsome enough to make a Jaffa look twice."

"You seriously have tickets on yourself." Bakura smirked, he dragged Daniel away, the poor archeologist looking confused and stunned at the action.

Yugi hunched down beside Sam. It was a pain that they where both in causal gear, she was even in high-heels, in such a lovely dress and now it was in a rather bad shape. No armor, just their plain old Human skin and bones to guide them.

"You ready?" Sam was loose, poised, almost feline like in her grace as she narrowed her eyes across the mall they had to cross. She had done this before. He could read very little from her emotions right now, just a hazy blur, and it was rather comforting, knowing he did not have to defend himself against an onslaught of raging emotions.

He only had his own to deal with.

"Now." Sam snapped.

Together they broke into a run, weaving through the ruins of the food court. The Jaffa where startled by their sudden appearance, taking note of them and not Bakura and Daniel in the shadows around the edges of the auditorium. Staff-blast fire hailed down like brim-stone from heaven and Yugi ducked, firing back as best as he could in the dazzling lights. They rounded up to the fountain, taking cover behind its structure. Yugi felt himself over. His heart was pounding. There was no rush like the brush of death, even though he could heal quickly, the thought of still being struck by a staff-blast was not a pleasant one. A well-aimed charge was enough to take off his head and that could kill even an immortal like him. Losing a limb did not bode well in his mind.

"These guys mean serious business." Yugi gasped out. "They're not using zat'ni'katels. They actually mean to kill us on first strike. Okay, we have to move again."

If Sam was surprised that he knew what a zat'ni'katel was she did not mention it, in that moment of grabbing her hand to make a move again it was already too late. Yugi caught the Jaffa in the corner of his gaze, just behind him but there was no possible way to move fast enough to duck out of the aliens path. Sam took the full force of the blow coming from the butt end of the staff. She hit the ground in a crumble. The Jaffa took a second swipe, landing a blow to Yugi's stomach. He sailed backward, landing across the rim of the fountain. The sheer pain of feeling the hard, cold tiles burrow into his back flared into his skull, bursting light like dazzling fire-works in his vision. He caught the sound of Sam's gunfire as she unleashed on the Jaffa from where she lay, coughing blood.

The thud of a body fell beside him and he slid down, skidding in water, or was it blood, he could not tell. Sam crawled toward him, grabbing his arm. He reached out, expanding his second sight, feeling for the damage done to her body. There was no internal bleeding.

"What is going on?" He covered his head, "Can you see anything?"

"Ryou, no sorry, Bakura…he's fighting a group of Jaffa. Yugi! Apophis, I see Apophis…he's really here."

A staff-blast buzzed past them.

"Down!" Yugi dropped lower. He loosened the armor plate off the dead Jaffa, thrusting it at Sam. "Use this as a shield, get to Teal'c. Go! He's waiting at that door."

"But I can't leave you—"

"Get to Teal'c and go around, behind Apophis. We cannot let him get a hold of Daniel and that tablet."

"What will you do?"

"Help Bakura."

Sam paused. She nodded and began to crawl away. Yugi gritted his teeth, pushing out air between the gaps. He thrust himself onto his hands and knees. He had one go at his, one pulse of cosmic energy to burn through his body. The threads of ignited gold trailed down his arms, over his features like an inked pattern of sunlit glow. His eyes narrowed. It burst. He ran. Amongst the four Jaffa Bakura was battling he appeared, catching a mid-blow of a swung staff that came down for Ryou's possessed body.

Bakura swore loudly.

"Pip-squeak! I told you to get out of here."

"I don't obey you, old-man." Yugi twirled his pistol of light, firing it into the Jaffa's groin. The alien tumbled backward with a wail, Bakura moving swiftly to deal a killing blow. He glanced back at Yugi through the tussles of Ryou's hair.

"Could you shoot them some place less painful? Kill them quickly you know."

"What?" Yugi spread his hands, "they don't have padding around their groins, so I shoot where my bullets will hit."

"Yeah well, have some respect for a man."

"I am a man."

"You fooled me." Bakura poked him on the forehead.

"Shut up!" Yugi batted the hand aside.

"Hey, guys, a little help." Daniel shouted, crawling out from under a broken table. Yugi tensed at the sight of him coming out of hiding, and running for his scattered bag. That he had even managed to drop it was a problem. Daniel was apparently just as clumsy as he was. The archeologist scrambled around for the scorched papers and notes.

The Puzzle suddenly weighed his neck, pulling him down automatically. Yugi staggered forward at the intense pull of the Shadows. He grappled for Bakura's arm, squeezing it as he snapped around, eye's widening in horror. Yami's voice was soft in his mind, but the warning came far too late.

_Apophis, Yugi, Apophis._

Yugi threw out his hand toward Daniel, "Daniel! No! Apophis!"

Daniel looked up, horror stricken. Yugi ran for him, feeling Bakura breeze past. Staff-weapon fire cascaded down around them and Bakura skidded, whiplashing out a flash of shadows. Yugi hid behind his bulker frame, panting, the heat of the Puzzle burning his chest as the physical presence of a Goa'uld made itself known around him. An adult Goa'uld was far more terrifying than that of the larvae that dwelt in the pouches of a Jaffa. He could barely stomach the stinging sensation spreading through his body. Bakura had obviously sighted Apophis, for he could feel Ryou's free hand had grabbed him, it's vice grip affirming his whereabouts. At the trembling of the touch, he knew solidly that this was Bakura's intense, possessive overdrive now in play. The spirit would not allow the Goa'uld to see him hiding behind his large body for as long as he could allow it.

"Apophis, don't!" That was Daniel's voice. Yugi looked over at him.

_\Bakura? What's going on—?_

The flash was an intense as a solar-flare. It was only through the old memories of his life as a Pharaoh that he even knew what had happened—the shock was of a Goa'uld hand-device; it sent them flying.

Bakura took the full front of the ribbon of light, and yet Yugi felt himself wrenched backward, flying across the floor to smash against the edge of a table. He slid down, landing in heap. Grabbing his back he wheezed for air, curling up into a ball as he fought to gain control of his pain. It was through blurred vision that he looked through his hair at the Goa'uld.

Apophis was nauseating in his splendor as he strolled forward majestically, a leer on his perfect face. Daniel was stricken, knelt over his piles of papers, mortified by the sight of the man who had taken his wife, killed so many of his loved ones. Yugi spat out blood, struggling to crawl forward. This could not happen, poor Daniel, poor, poor Daniel.

The horrible Goa'uld looked almost hungry with a desire to kill the dear, kind archeologist. How could a Goa'uld, an alien who claimed to be above Human emotions, desires and quells, look so Human in this moment?

Maybe the Goa'uld were more Human than they wanted to give themselves credit for, having taken on more of their hosts over the past thousands of years. Was it entirely possible that Apophis had every male instinct to take out Daniel, because Daniel was his rival.

Well, that would not be happening. He snapped into action, forcing his burning body to move through the debris. Yami was close by, he could sense the feeling of the king's physical manifestation and the Puzzle was heavy, wanting to make that connection with the soul that inhabited it. Bakura was beginning to stir again, and with that stirring came the thief-kings rage at having been cast aside like a toy. Yugi timed his movements with Bakura's, catching the eye of his First Prime, and breathing each breath in motion with those Bakura took. They lunged on the Jaffa guarding the god.

Bakura slashed the Jaffa beside Apophis, slicing his blade keenly through him. He twisted about, not missing a beat, cutting through the second. Yugi dropped under the blade, rolled and kicked Daniel to one side as the third Jaffa made a swing with the blunt end of a staff-blaster.

Bakura dealt a death charge to the final Jaffa, burrowing his blade through the alien's armor.

Yugi did not see the end, he was on Apophis. Gun pointed directly up at the Goa'uld from his kneeling position. Apopois though, was not a push over. He had moved to quickly to intersect. Yugi felt the hand-device upon his forehead. By the heat of it, it was fully-charged, but it had not gone off. Bakura's feet were just visible to the sides of his vision, between the false-god's legs, indicating the thief-king was directly behind Apophis.

The Goa'uld was staring down at him in agape. It had to be the only thing that was stopping him from firing his hand-device. Yugi's eyes widened suddenly, feeling the spike of intense emotional hatred. He flung out his free hand, grabbing the wrist around the hand-device and forcing every ounce of his cosmic energy through his skin, into the technology, praying to any Truth-god who would listen that his own energy would be enough counteract the force of the pulse currently building within it. He had no desire to have his brain fried today.

"You know my face, it has changed, but you know who I am." His Goa'uld tongue was rough, he had never spoken it before, the young Pharaoh he had once been had spoken it and only ever when forced to. This, he figured, was a very good occasion to use it. "This planet belongs to me, it is under my protection. You will leave, and you will tell the other System Lords of this and if you return, I will kill you."

Apophis glared down at him, arrogant and disgusted. Yugi tightened his grip, wishing he was wearing the ancient shadow-gauntlet his Pharaoh-self had once welded. With it might have had a chance to send back the same pulse through the hand-device of Apophis.

/_Aibou, be strong, do not give him a chance to retort you./ _Yami urged. /_His Jaffa will make him feel empowered, give them reason to not believe he has the upper-hand. Act. Speak. Now./_

"I said leave! Bakura, teach him what it means to disobey his Pharaoh!" Yugi yelled. He watched as the white blade appeared through the chest of Apophis, it was torn free and Ryou's body swung about, throwing the Goa'uld across the room, landing him at the feet of his Jaffa.

Bakura peered through the eyes' of his host. "Your god is going to need a bit of help getting back to your ship. I cut his spinal cord. Have fun with that."

The gathering of Jaffa looked momentarily stunned, and Yugi knew he should not have felt the tiny thread of satisfaction at such mortification but they had just stormed into a mall and started shooting up the place in broad daylight. This was going to keep Seto busy for a month on a cover-story. Then he noticed it, Apophis' mouth was moving, in a soft whisper. One Jaffa moved and Yugi stepped back a pace as a silver ball was thrown in their direction, landing a few feet away from them.

Bakura's reaction was instant, enviously fast.

"Grenade!" He twisted away, running for Daniel and sweeping him up, diving for cover and wrapping them both in a cocoon of Shadows.

Yugi's eyes widened. He threw up his arms, shouting one of the few spells he could muster in the short amount of time. The Puzzle activated as the flash enveloped the area.

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Maybe it was a dream, but it felt oddly real. To be drifting in the encompassing sea of stars, in what he could only imagine was the Milky Way Galaxy surrounding him. As far as his vision could take him, the spirals went onward, swirling around, sparkling with heavenly dust. Part of him wanted to remain in the peaceful surrounds, unsupported by anything, only the sheer majestic purity of the universe itself.

The coolness surrounding him eased from behind, as a warm patch began to grow, as if a star was intensifying. Yugi crinkled his brow, wondering how he could turn, how could he move to face the heat that was building against his flesh and swallowing his entire frame, dispelling the beautiful stars, chasing away the ebony world of space.

A slender touch brushed over his shoulder, the touch like a wave of electricity through his veins.

"You must go deeper, further, Yugi. You must never stop. Find the dawn beyond your own, and there will be many more dawns beyond that. Never stop, go deeper, go further—"

Yugi jostled upright, giving a gasp. He regretted the motion and gave a low whine, lowering himself back into the fallen debris around him. His chest was aching, okay, everything was aching, but he was pretty sure everything was attached. Carefully he touched the Puzzle, clasping it tightly.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Yugi blinked away dust, frowning. The Puzzle was replying to him now? No, wait, that was Yami, thank goodness or he would seriously question the idea of a concussion.

"Hey, handsome, I'm guessing I'm not dead and this is not my idea of an afterlife."

"As lovely as ever I see, Aibou."

"Fudge off. I don't do shadow-magic like a pro, okay, it makes me nauseous."

"Anything broken?" Yami knelt beside Yugi. Yugi contemplated that thought, then held up his burning hand. It was scorched from Apophis' hand-device, wonderful—oh well—it was not like he had finger-prints to care about anyway, those were long gone.

In the distance, somewhere, he could see the Colonel was watching them but he could not care less right now. He had just been in a death match with a Goa'uld, nothing mattered but Yami's tender gaze.

Though he doubted anything was broken, something was bleeding, and his arms burned. It was too recent from his injuries with the Illuminati to have been fighting. The muscles had been pulled, stretched and were now in even worse state than they had been. He groaned, forcing himself into a sitting position.

"I am so glad I am immortal, because if I was a normal Human, I think I might be dead."

Yami knelt beside him, shadows curling around them both. Yugi smiled at the informal hug of sorts, it was always lovely to feel the giggling shadows swarming about him, rising up from the earth to clamber at his skin. He stroked the tentacles kindly, thanking them for their concern.

Yami clasped his cheek, rubbing away blood from his lips with a thumb. "You are a normal Human, you just happen to be in an unusual circumstance."

"That, my Dark, is the understatement of the year." Yugi peered around the ruined mall. He shuttered. "Is anyone dead? Did you get everyone out…thank you for doing that, I am so glad we can be in two places at the same time. I know you would have rather preferred to have been here—"

Yami's cold finger touched his lips, "Yugi, I am Pharaoh, my concern is over my people. Besides, you're perfectly capable of handling a situation on your own. The Truth-god's wouldn't have split our soul if that were not the case."

He would have burst into tears if the Colonel had not been hovering around somewhere, so he simply showered the emotions over the spirit inwardly and Yami brushed his cheek, smiling.

"And no, no one is dead." It was solid, firm statement of assurance.

"Thank goodness." Yugi's shoulders sagged in relief.

"Anyone hurt?" That was the next question. Limbs could have been lost, lives could have been shattered that way.

"No." Again, his king's voice was confident.

Yugi collapsed into his lap, the will to be strong leaving him. "How is that possible? No to go against your abilities to look after a horde of screaming people, I know you're pretty good at it."

"What I can figure, they were not aiming at the civilians, they were aiming at you four. The tablet, Yugi, has a tracking device in it. It was activated when we came in contact with it. Apophismust have been alerted to it."

Yugi huffed, giving the spirit the most Seto looking glare he could muster, "And what, he just happened to be hanging around the solar system? There is only one Stargate on Earth, and they couldn't have come through that. Surely their ships don't travel that fast?"

"We'll have Seto look into it. Right now, we can be grateful that no one was killed and that he got away with a warning that Earth is not to be touched. Nice speech by the way."

"I learnt from the best." Yugi groaned, "But he knows about the tablet, and that we're looking for the weapons of the Truth-gods."

Yami sighed, pulling him into a hug. Yugi welcomed it. He could have stayed there for eternity.

"The Goa'uld know and fear the Shadows from the time of Zorc, for he welded them for a sort period and it almost destroyed them. I feel sure that if Apophistries to go any further the System Lords would step in to stop him as well. They would not allow another one of their kind to get a hold of the Shadows, simply because it would be detrimental for them all."

"You think so?"

"I do."

Yugi nodded into the king's shoulder.

"He is right kid." Jack's voice startled him. Yugi pulled away from Yami, turning to stare up at the Colonel. When did he get there, standing over him all father-figure like? Yugi coughed, fanning away a deep blush. He gave Yami's leg a sharp pat. The spirit floated upward, grabbing him around the waist and lifting him onto his feet.

"Well," Jack whistled, "this is a mess."

"Seto will deal with it." Yugi shrugged.

"Is he just your clean up guy?"

"Don't tell him he is, but yeah, he is. It gives him something to do with his time."

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. He was conflicted, though Yugi could not quite tell if he was conflicted over what had just transpired or over the whole situation that had just been dumped upon him.

He blinked in surprise as a hand touched his head and his hair was ruffled.

"You can bunk down at my place for a while, kid, you and your boyfriend. Anyone who can beat the crud out of Apophis on the team."

He looked awfully sheepish as he turned away, calling out to Teal'c who was still guarding the entrance.

Yugi stood limply, staring after the Colonel. Guess that solved that problem, they were going to America.

"Boyfriend?" Yami scratched his chin, "He is not going to let that go is he?"

"At least he's nice about it."

"It is only because you are so very lovely." Yami offered.

Yugi raised an eyebrow, "By the way, handsome. If you are going to be my boyfriend in America, you're going to start treating me like I am your god." Yugi spun around.

"I don't already?" Yami looked mortified the mere thought he did not, too Yugi's great delight. Ah, the dear Pharaoh—they had spent to long searching for long treasures, he had not taught his other half how to live amongst the sprawl of Humanity. Well, now was a good as ever.

"You're going to do the laundry, you're going to do the dishes, you're going to learn to cook, you're going to clean the toilet, you're going to make the bed, and vacuum, and give me back rubs, and foot rubs and not to mention buy me really nice jewelry."

"You sound like one of my wives."

"I am your wife!" Yugi called out. "For eternity! It's called a curse for a reason, sunshine."

He heard the laughter from behind and smiled. It was good, when they could laugh, because no one had died. He stared skyward to the glass ceiling, catching the glitter of the sun behind the clouds.

"Thank you, Re."

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Ryou cringed. Someone was shaking him, he could hear the pulsing of their heart-beat and it was racing frantically. He pushed them to one side, giving a soft protest. The squeak he heard was male enough to his ears for him to pinpoint who it might have been.

Daniel. Good. Daniel. He could cope with Daniel right now. Covering his mouth Ryou coughed. He dragged his beaten body upright, slouching forward. He peered through his newly dyed hair, its short length and brown color still unusual to his eyes.

"Is everyone alright?" he whispered.

Daniel nodded.

"You saved me, or well, Bakura did."

"He does that."

"Ryou, you're bleeding." Daniel held out his bloodied hands. "I tried to stem the blood flow. A staff-weapon must have hit you."

Ryou glanced down at a makeshift job of a bandage around his middle, from Daniel's shirt. The archeologist was now apparently only wearing his jumper. He smiled weakly at the nice gesture.

He slouched back. "I'll be fine Daniel, you can go…and see if the others are alright. Please. It's better if I am alone."

Daniel touched his arm, giving it a tight squeeze. He shuffled to his feet wearily and trotted away. Ryou heard him shout something that sounded like Teal'c, but he could not be sure. For a time he lay, thinking he could hear the sound of Seto yelling off in the distance, and that gave him mild satification that they had caused the man a great deal of hullabaloo in just the short amount of time they had returned to Domino. He deserved a bit of spice in his life once in a while.

Slowly, he recovered, enough to raise his hand to his chest and grasp the Ring. His mouth opened, folding into a summoning spell and he relaxed as inky black mist folded into a beautiful angelic shape beside him. His essence was an ever reassuring sight, the shadow-monster that reflected his own soul, no matter what anyone said about him, Change-of-Heart was the essence of his and Bakura's combined soul just as little Kuriboh embodied Yugi and Yami—no matter how amusing that thought was.

The interdimensional being knelt beside him and Ryou clasped the shadow-monsters hand tightly, "Thank you," he whispered.

The shadow-monster touched his side, peeling back Daniel's shirt from the wound. It looked at him with a foul glance of disproval before pressing both hands to the scorched flesh. Ryou bit back his cry, swallowing it as the pool of energy threaded the charred membrane, returning it whole again.

The shadow-monster touched his sweaty forehead and he smiled weakly in gratitude.

"Change?!" Bakura's brass shout startled the duel-monster, who's hackles were instantly alerted, one of its eyes turning a shade of dark red as it whipped around in a show of defense.

Ryou watched as his other-half threw up his arms in truce. By the sight of the dark lord, covered in a coat of dribbling shadows, he must have been torn from the physical flesh when the Goa'uld grenade had exploded. Ryou filed that small piece of information away, wondering just much more they would end up needing to learn about themselves when dealing with their enemy.

"Is he alright, Change?"

The shadow-monster turned, giving a slow nod. It began to fade and Ryou breathed out at the sensation of the shadow-monsters return. He gripped the Ring and held out his free hand for Bakura as the dark lord slid to his knees, gathering him up.

"Sorry, I think I roughed up your body a bit."

"Oh, we got to beat up a Goa'uld, I figure it was worth it." Ryou rested against him, "Just like the old days, heh." The spirit's shadows curled around him and he closed his eyes, safe, again.

"No," Bakura cradled him, "not like the old days. Now I have you."

No words had ever made him more content.

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Saying goodbye to Jii-chan had been difficult. It always was. However this time, Yugi was somewhat relieved with the knowledge that the old mad had taken the Elixir, and it would begin to thread its way through his body. Jii-chan promised to visit, and that made him feel warm, comforted and happy. His grandfather had actually said he would visit, he would leave Japan and visit America.

The fiasco with Apophis, his Jaffa, and the Mall had increased the pressure to get to a place where they could hide themselves and the tablet.

It still baffled him how Apophis could have possibly made it past Seto's state-of-the-art satellite systems and needless-to-say the business-man was far more furious about that than having to do a clean-up job and a cover-story. In his eyes, Seto Kaiba felt as though he had been made a fool of and he was now, privately shamed and embarrassed.

It was somewhat adorable really.

Really, it was.

So, now Seto had shipped them off to America, to be someone else's problem, well, that was how he so eloquently put it. It was more of an act of hiding in plain sight, and these Americans had their Stargate, without it, nothing they wanted to do could be done, thus cooperation was going to be needed.

The flight to America had been uneventful, the usual types of flights he had always had. He wondered what the world would be like when they finally did run out of the fuel needed to power the mammoth machines that had allowed man to fly. Was that on the list of things to hunt down out there, in space? Because someday, their world would run out, it was a fact—one an immortal, such as himself, contemplated often, especially when up in the air.

However, Colorado Springs, in the state of Colorado—according to Jack the city was often simply referred to as 'The Springs'-was a lovely place, back-dropped by the Southern Rocky Mountains that he knew he was going to fall in love with. Jack had a home amongst the outskirts of the city, further into the low-lying foothills of the mountains. Apparently, he very much like to separate his work and his home-life, even if it meant an extra-long drive into work.

Smiling as they pulled into the drive-way Yugi gazed out the window, recalling Ryou's conversation with the Captain as she had piled luggage into the back of her car at the airport. The English lord had tried his utmost best to insist that he could simply get a hotel room, that it was not like he could not afford one.

However, it was nice of their hosts to offer up their houses, and he had an inkling that after everything the American's had seen, there was no way they were going to let them out of their sights now.

"So kid," Jack glanced over at him, "I figure you and I are going to crash."

"Pretty much." Yugi yawned.

"We can order Chinese or something."

Yugi waved a hand, "Right now, I'll eat whatever. Shower, food, sleep."

The Colonel popped open the car door, "Sounds like a plan."

Yugi touched the Puzzle. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day, going to meet this General Hammond that the SG team revered so much and finally, seeing the Stargate again.

_/But for now Aibou, rest, you are still recovering./_

_/When am I not recovering./ _

_/True enough…/_

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Her house was too big. Sam never really knew why she had brought it. Maybe because of the wooden floors, or the kitchen, or the way the garden looked after itself. There was no denying it though, it was too big for one woman. It had three bedrooms, a study, two bathrooms, a living-room, dining, kitchen and a family room. It was just a really big house. It was huge and she was so small inside of it.

Maybe that was why she never liked coming home.

Because her house felt so empty, reminding her that she was empty too.

The SGC felt more like home, because it had everyone in it, her family was there.

Pulling out towels from the linin cupboard Sam paused, giving a deep breath. Jack's insturctions had been solid. Do not let that English what-not-fellow out of your sight, he's weird.

Weird—everyone is weird in the eyes of the Colonel. She shook her head. Easing to her feet she strolled down the hallway, toward the light in one of the spare bedrooms. Ryou's suite case was outside and she peered in, sighting him rolling across the window blinds. He gave a back handed wave and she frowned.

It was incredible, how he knew where she was. It was hard not to look at his arms, the bruises on the pale white flesh. He had worn a cardigan all day, but it was gone now, and he looked like he had been in a bar-fight. Well, considering what they had been through, it could have been worse. She was pretty beaten up herself, Janet was going to have a fit when she arrived back at the SGC tomorrow.

A good hot soak in the tub was in order.

Sam walked into the bedroom, placing the towels down upon the bed.

"I figure you and Bakura share a bed, right? If not, there is another room."

"Evidently," Ryou flashed a smile, "if Bakura is in the mood. He can't sleep, remember. His body is also an illusion, what he feels is a direct reflection of what I feel. In some ways, I sleep for him, in the same manner that I eat and drink to sustain him too."

Sam cringed, she should have remember that from the other night, "Right." She sat down on the edge of the bed, giving a small frown, "Wait, would that mean…can he feel pain?"

Ryou rolled his suit case into the room, lifting it and placing it upon the bed.

"If his illusory body is damaged, I suppose there is a form of pain. Not what we feel as pain though, with our sensory system and brain doing all the feeling for us." Ryou studied his hands thoughtfully, "If I am wounded, he does catch the echo of that, which is why Yami and Bakura get very upset when we are physically hurt, or are in a state of emotional imbalance. It impacts them, tenfold, due to their far more darker nature."

"If Bakura is inside you, does he then feel more?"

"If I were stabbed through the gut while he was in control, yes indeed, he would feel it." Ryou smirked, "And it has happened, sometimes he will seize control just before an injury, to suffer and endure it for me. I used to think it was some form of sacrificial love, until I realized he actually liked to feel the pain, it made him feel alive again."

Sam stared at him blankly. "There has to be a healthier way than that."

"Hmmm, sex?" Ryou flashed a smile, "Alas, I cannot perform miracles. Having sex with oneself is a wee bit difficult," he propped his hands on his hips.

"You know, Yugi said you were shy once."

"I was." Ryou scratched his chin, "Then I met Yugi."

Sam shook her head. "I get the feeling a lot of people say that."

Ryou unzipped his suit case, revealing perfectly folded shirts and pants. Sam hid her smile at the sight of the lords neat and perfect display, recalling how disgruntled he had been at Yugi simply stuffing his gear about. The two could not have been any more different.

He sighed suddenly, "Bakura's coming."

Sam looked around. It had been odd that the spirit had not travelled with them through the entire plane flight. She had simply presumed that he was inside of the Ring, only Ryou had informed her that, in fact, he was in England, sorting out 'business' there. What business Ryou did not say, but he looked a little forlorn when he mentioned it.

She watched as the shadows folded into the shape of the dark lord. He stepped forward in one sweep, fully formed and clothed as he glided across the room, throwing another case onto the bed. "Edison sends his regards, and I brought the cursed cat from hell."

"Snowy!" Ryou cheered, brightening considerably. He bent down and scooped up the fat white ball of fluff.

"And Edison packed another case for you, he went to London as you asked," Bakura gave the suite case a pat, "and got you a new wardrobe for your cute hair." The spirit ruffled his light's brown mop. Ryou swatted him aside.

"Leave it alone. It is viciously awful."

"Oh, cork it, landlord. I can still snog you whatever you look like."

"Shut up, you giant wind-bag." Ryou dumped the cat on the bed, grabbing the new case and heaving it over. He winced, grabbing at his shoulder.

"Careful, it's enchanted, bigger on the inside." Bakura pinched Ryou's sides.

"You could have warned me, I am covered in bruises because you decided to hitch-hike." Ryou squeaked. Sam shook her head, standing to her feet. Her hand was butted as the cat trundled about on the bed, looking up at her contently. Ryou wiggled out of Bakura's arms, lifting the feline up and offering it out.

"You do not mind, do you Sam? She is a darling. I know you were not expecting three of us, but Snowy is adorable and will not cause any trouble—"  
"She is a demon from hell."

"Bakura, you only hate her because you are a spirit."

"She tries to sleep on my face."

"You must have a comfortable face then," Sam offered.

Bakura snorted a laugh. "Damn, girl."

Ryou threw Snowy at him. "Alright, I am taking a shower. Bakura, behave."

"When have I never not—"

"Do not ever make me repeat your wrong doings in front of a woman."

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_Thanks for reading folks. Many regards for your kindness. *hugs*_

_As usual, you can leave a review to poke me, or you can find me on Tumblr, Facebook and Youtube and poke me for updates, cause I know I'm so bad at updating lately XD _

_Eventually we're going to get back to a good old routine again._

_Cheers everyone! _

_Keep well okay. _

_KL_


	8. GoDR Episode 7 - Stargate Command

_Oh golly, it's an UPDATE! YAYYYY!_

_Enjoy._

_Giving much love. Hope you are all well *hugs*_

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**Episode 7: Stargate Command**

Yami gazed out the window into the garden. Night was beautiful. The soft touch of the moon just briefly gathered off the surface of the leaves of the trees that surrounded Jack's house. Even the grass looked as though it was covered in a delicate layer of sprinkled silver. It was nights like this, quiet and serene, that his chaotic soul found itself within a state of eased peace.

Most Humans would have thought the house was silent—he supposed to the Human ear it was, but he could catch the creaking of the floor boards as they twisted from the changing temperature, and the grinding of the bricks in the walls as the foundations were inched further apart by a slow growing tree-root.

Somewhere a mouse was skittering about in the ceiling.

And then, there were the two heartbeats. The distant one, to the other end of the house, was Jack's. For a man his age, it was healthy, strong and he could detect nothing ill with it.

The other was beside him—Yugi.

Yami turned away from the window. Yugi had never minded moonlight, starlight or city-light shining on his face, and he supposed it was due to having the window-ceiling in the Game Shop. Even now, the glow caught his sleeping features directly, highlighting the deep lines around his lips that had not been there in his teenage years. Yami crouched, folded his arms on the edge of the bed and leaned his chin upon them.

Watching his Aibou grow had been one of the greatest delights. From the timid little boy, with shoulders slouched, head bowed, and a slight stutter when asked a question in class, his little Aibou had learned to walk tall and independent. It had been a transformation worth waiting for.

Beautiful was never really the right word to use. Beautiful was the word he reserved for the ancient wonders of his homeland—of the splendored sight of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Temple of Solomon collecting the light of twin white dwarfs upon the surface of a far distant planet. Yugi paled to those wonders.

How could one describe their own other-half? He had Bakura had spent nights pondering such a question together, and they had never come up with a satisfactory answer.

There just was no answer.

To them, to their shadowy, torn souls, that had been lost in the pits of darkness, shredded with the pain of a thousand blades again, and again, over and over until the nightmare ended, only when their lights finally grasped them—there was no description honorable enough.

He reached out, brushing his fingers across Yugi's cheek, stringing back the locks of dyed black hair, still as unruly as ever.

"Whatever the future holds for us here, Aibou. We'll face it together."

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The kid was really cute when he was asleep. Jack had come into the spare bedroom to gently wake him that morning to find him sprawled out on the bed in a pile of arms and legs. He had been aware of the shifty, red eyes following his every movement from the shadows of the room but he had still stood for a moment, gazing at the sight.

Just for a minute, just the briefest of minutes, he had been reminded of Charlie.

Then it was gone.

Like that.

And he had shaken the kid awake.

Yugi had moved like a lightning bolt, grabbing for a weapon that was not under his pillow and looked startled when he came up short for it. Then he blushed, realizing his action and who it was in the room. Jack had smiled, spreading his hands. The kid was trained, really trained, and it oddly hurt to see someone so young know so much about such things—then again—the kid was like, twenty-four or something, they were sending kid's that age off to war all the time.

He had been younger when he had joined the Air Force.

Still, after Charlie, everything changed. No kid should hold a gun, not if they did not need it, and no matter what, he would always see someone so _tiny_ as a kid.

Now, Yugi was sleeping again, apparently jet-lag happened even on immortals. He was pressed against the surface of the car window, dreaming away. Jack scratched his chin. Cute kid.

He reached out, shaking him.

"Hey, kid, we're here."

_Here_ being Cheyenne Mountain, work, home, the SGC or Stargate Command, and so on and so forth.

Yugi jolted, snorting as he came awake. He rubbed thumbs into his eye sockets, yawning.

"Really? We only just left."

"You slept the whole way."

"Bother, I'm not adapting very well…"

"You slept too much on the plane. Ruined it." Jack popped his door. Yugi followed the action.

The kid looked entranced already and they were only in the car-park. He hopped and skipped along, hugging his loose, thin black cardigan around his neck. Jack supposed the air had a bit of nip to it, and winter was closing in slowing. Personally he hated autumn, but that was because of, well, that was when Charlie had died but he could not really blame a season for that could he.

He wondered if they would have a thunder storm that night, they always had good thunder storms and the kid, he was sure, would enjoy a good show.

At the entrance he spotted the Captain, and beside her was that tall English guy. He dressed like he had just strolled out of some library, but goodness knows where he had found the bright blue sneakers.

"Ryou!" Yugi shouted.

Ryou, right, that was his name. He was going to have to remember that so he would not sound like a stupid idiot—well, not more than he usually did.

Ryou waved and Yugi jogged up to him.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Marvelous. I do not think Samantha got much though, she and Bakura were up all hours discussing worm-hole physics."

Yugi tipped back on his heels, smirking up at the Captain. "Am I sensing a pattern here, Sam?"

"I honestly just didn't think a three thousand year old spirit would even know anything about worm-hole physics." Sam scrubbed at the back of her neck sheepishly.

"We surprise you." Yami's voice spoke eerily from the shadow around Yugi's feet.

Jack stepped back a pace. "Stop doing that."

"No, you look very funny when I do. It is far too amusing."

Yugi tapped his foot on the concrete. "Come on, Yami, on your best behavior. Out you come."

Jack could not help but smile. It honestly sounded like the kid was trying to coax out a toddler from a wardrobe or something. His smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared as the shadows folded layer by layer into a solid shape beside Yugi. Dressed in a casual gray sweater, raven jeans, slightly faded boots, the Pharaoh was far too uncannily still to be Human. Jack swore his eyes were momentarily swathed in pitch night-black, making him as eerily alien as any alien they had encountered. That vanished as fast as the shadows playing around his boots, and pale pink pupils replaced that venomous stare. He gave a smile, head tilted to one side like a goofy boy.

"Oh Bakura, I see you…" Yami chimed.

Bakura stepped out from behind Ryou. Unlike Yami, he wore just what his other half did.

Jack groaned at them both, "Captain, how did you go telling them apart?"

"Bakura wants to kill me, Ryou wants to make love. Problem solved." Sam shoved her key-card into the door and it cracked open, allowing them entrance. She ducked in, giving a back handed wave. Ryou shrugged, following her, dragging Bakura behind him like a scolded school-boy.

"Has she always been that blunt?" Yugi glanced up at Jack as he shoved the kid through the doorway. He gave a wave to the security guard, mouthing 'visitors' as they passed. There were perks to being the head team of Stargate Command, he had to admit to that. They really did not follow protocol at all here. Gee, they were so slack; it was no wonder the General had the Pentagon breathing down his back half the time.

Jack shrugged. "Yup. You should have heard what she said the first time we met."

"I'm going to skip that." The kid smiled wistfully and Jack raised an eyebrow. Sometimes he just was not sure if the kid's jeweled eyes were actually staring right into his soul. He had to get him into a room with some of the brick-head diplomats.

Now that would be really fun. Yes. He could see that working really well. Yes indeed.

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"She's an independent woman, kid, or something like that." Jack shrugged, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his green cargo pants, which Yugi was in part, envious of. They looked pretty cool for a military uniform. He cocked his head to one side. Despite having Yami's strong arm interlinked around his own, fingers weaved through his, his attention was focused on the Colonel. The man had such interesting emotions. They went from high to lows in split seconds. Right now the Colonel was radiating warmth for his female comrade; obviously the memory of their first meeting greatly amused him.

Yugi inwardly chuckled, looking to Yami.

_/I like this place, I feel warm here./ _He rubbed the king's arm with his free hand. The tickling sensation of the king's illusory form prickled his fingers.

Yami's black eye's flicked his way, /_That's a good sign. _The spirit squeezed their linked grasp.

They caught up with Sam, Ryou and Bakura in front of an elevator. Yugi pursed his lips. From the looks of it, they were going to be going down. Daniel had said that Stargate Command was underground Cheyenne Mountain. Of what the archeologist had explained, and Jack had very briefly elaborated Cheyenne Mountain was a high-security U.S. government facility that had been, built sometime in the nineteen sixties. It was rather useful now, housing the Stargate and all.

_/A mountain is as good as a Pyramid I guess,/ _he mentally offered to Yami.

The pharaoh's amusement was felt only through the Puzzle, pulsing in their link.

"Stick with us." Sam waved them into the elevator. "It's a maze."

"So, how far down do we have to go?" Ryou peered over Jack's shoulder at the panel Sam punched a number into. The elevator shifted and they began to head downward.

"This is only the first elevator." Sam grinned. "Down to sub-level eleven."

"Oh my," Ryou looked back at Bakura.

"Long way down?" Bakura pursed his lips. "I like this."

"Just a bit." Sam grinned. "Twenty eight sub-levels.

"I feel just a tad bit buried." Ryou wrapped his arms around his chest.

"Tah," Bakura ruffled his hair playfully, "it's no more than having a giant pyramid build on you. Right Pharaoh? Shall I go and kiss your daddy's arse again?"

"Please do," Yami hissed, "and ram a curse down his throat for me, will you."

"Yami!" Yugi kicked him sharply. "I seriously do not want your father's wrath haunting me for eternity! Please stop trying to piss him off. The both of you—I would much rather not repeat the Mummy movies!"

"Relax, pip-squeak, like we would actually gate to where the old-man is buried. However tempting the treasure is."

"Treasure is good," Jack piped up.

"It is good, but not worth the curses. I assure you. I survived it once; I'm not trying it again." Bakura snorted. "It would take a plague to make me go back to the Valley of the Kings, that planet may as well be a death trap."

The elevator shuttered to a stop, the doors opening to reveal slightly rounded tunnels expanding out in either direction. Sam casually stepped out, pulling out a card again from her cargo pants and flashing it at a nearby guard.

"Does Daniel know this?" She stood at the entrance, holding the elevator open. "That the Valley of the Kings is a planet?"

"He's going to find out." Yugi laughed, ducking under her arm, "He has my files. I imagine he'll ring me up at some ungodly hour and squeal into the phone demanding that we go there and I'll be like, no, unless you want to split the universe in half, sure, otherwise, no."

"Every dramatic, kid." Jack pointed down the left corridor. "Too lift number two."

"I do try, sir." Yugi flounced a bow.

"Hey! Guys! Wait up."

"Speak of the devil." Jack whistled, spinning on his heels. "Danny."

Daniel jogged up, panting slightly as he gripped Jack's shoulder. He waved a hand about. "The General is waiting with Teal'c. They've been trying to figure out where Aphosis could have come from ever since the attack, but thus far, no hope. Apparently, Seto called the General about it."

Yugi cringed. Really, that was just so much like Seto to be all fatherly-figure-like on them. "Awww, no, he didn't! "

"Well, I think it went okay, Yugi." Daniel shrugged. "I actually think the General like's him."

"That might be a first in the history books." Ryou made a small sign with his hands as they squeezed into the second elevator.

Yugi pursed his lips, "You know, it could be that Seto is a strict, to the point guy, gets the job done. He does have plans to run a country you know."

"And take over the world," Ryou piped.

"We're just letting that one slide under the table." Bakura waved a hand, "We've all been there once…"

"Sheesh, I'd hate to think who you guy's used to hang out with." Jack whistled, exiting the elevator as its doors wheezed open wearily. He gave them a kick on his way out.

"Oh, only the best kind, Colonel." Yugi laughed, spinning on his heels as he peered about the round tunnels of gray concrete. Everything looked the same; he wondered how everyone told a different level from another? There might have been numbers indicating which level was which, but he was surely going to get his head twisted around!

"So, Sam, where do you work?" Ryou inquired politely as the Captain twisted them down a corridor. They passed by a group of armed air-personnel, who tipped their heads to the Colonel.

"My laboratory is on Level Twenty-One, Daniel's laboratory is on Eighteen."

"I don't have one, by the way." Jack called out. "Cause I'm boring."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "I am sure you'll get well equated with Level Eighteen Yugi. The library is there, and there is plenty of room for you to move into my office."

"Sounds super, but what if the General does not approve of this?"

Daniel waved a hand in dismissal, "You're here aren't you? May as well be sealed in stone! Here we are…" Daniel brushed past Sam, arriving at a door. He flashed a grin.

"General Hammond puts up with me, so he'll manage you guys."

"Right…" Yugi blew a rasp. "I don't think he's ever dealt with dead people before."

"We can only but try." Jack touched a hand to his chest.

Yugi really did not want to admit it, even to himself, but he had been feeling like a tightly bound knot over meeting the General. It had been fine with Daniel—Daniel had come to them seeking help with the tablet, and Daniel was an accepting guy, the fact that he had actually believed the pyramids to be landing pads for space-ships in the first place, and staked his entire career on that claim had made both himself and Ryou feel safe enough to trust him with their own secrets.

However, now, he was going to face a General of the U.S Air Force, a very respectable man he imagined. He strengthened his grip on Yami's arm, wondering just how much more anxious he could get. He had faced down some of the darkest fiends his own imagination could fester-up and yet here he was, sweating in his knee-high boots over meeting a General under a mountain.

Daniel shoved open the door, sweeping in with all the energy of a puppy-dog. Jack and Sam followed him, with Sam giving them a brief smile of assurance.

_/Well,/_ Ryou's mental voice was firm as it resonated, _/this is what we've been waiting for, and looking for, a chance to find our missing Chappa'i. We've come this far…best not stop now./_

Yugi scoffed in the back of his throat at the thought of ever backing out of a challenge. Never!

He brushed past Bakura and Yami, entering into a larger room. One wall was entirely made of glass, looking out onto a long drop. A set of stairs led down somewhere to the right, and to the left, was an office. In the center of the room, where the SG team had already seated themselves, was an oval table, fit with rather plush looking black staff chairs. It looked like a broad-room meeting room.

At the head of the table, a rather short man, slightly heavy around the midriff and spouting a shiny bald head, slowly stood to his feet in greeting. Yugi sucked in a sharp breath at the ease and strength the old man radiated. It was akin to his grandfather, bearing the weariness of age, mingled with the tantalizing aroma of learned wisdom. Though his brow was folded in a slight scowl, his emotional state behind that expression entirely betrayed his features—he was hardly scowling on the inside, Yugi sensed deep seeded amusement radiating from him, and could only imagine it came from seeing either himself or Ryou, or maybe the two of them side by side.

Maybe they were not what the man imagined.

Daniel was the only one standing out of the team, and he waved them forward. Yugi felt the archeologist touch his shoulder. "General Hammond sir, I would like to introduce you to Doctor Yugi Motou, he's a behavioral scientist and enjoys pretending he knows something about ancient history, and ah, Lord Ryou Bakura, who is quite the collector of rare artifacts. Yugi, Ryou…this is General George Hammond."

Yugi bowed. "It is an honor to meet you sir. Please allow me to introduce to you our other halves. This is Yami, however his people knew him as Pharaoh Temu, it was his official title, though not his real name." Yugi motioned to Bakura, "And Ryou's shadow, Bakura, once the First Prime to Pharaoh Temu…known then as Alekifa of the lost Tribe of Benjamin, the Thief King. "

"Thief King?" The General raised an eyebrow.

Bakura smirked, striking a pose, "Best damn rouge in the galaxy."

The General spread his hands. "I think I can deal with another one." He glanced to Jack in passing, "Please, take a seat. I hear that you've had quite the adventurous lives, if the events of last week were anything to go by."

"We entice trouble." Yugi slid into a seat, blinking at the realization that he sunk into it and had to look like a school-boy. How come Yami, only a fraction taller than him, always managed to pull off looking like this majestic lord-of-all-freaking-awesomeness?

_/Because I am just that awesome/_

_/Oh, shut up!/_ Yugi punched him under the table, despite knowing it would do utterly nothing, it was still mildly satisfying to his own Human need.

General Hammond did not look deterred; he smiled a warm, courteous smile. Yugi could feel his heart melting. The bald old man had the same sparkle of mischievousness in his blue eyes as Jii-chan did. "Oh, I do believe SG1 knows just how that feels."

"We're not that bad," Jack denied.

"I think we are, sir." Sam shrugged.

"Indeed." Teal'c turned his head slightly.

Jack looked to Daniel for backup, the archeologist simply shrugged in reply, making the Colonel pout and grumble something under his breath.

"I would just like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the United States, I believe this is your first visit. It is my understanding that you need a place to disappear for a while?"  
Yugi shuffled in his seat. Just how much had Daniel told the General about the Illuminati? Actually, come to think of it, maybe the General already knew about them! That was a possibility…

Bakura's mind brushed his, the briefest of gentle touches. Had it not been a cold stroke, akin to a finger dipped in ice, he would never have known it was Bakura settling his nerves.

_/I have it covered, Pip-squeak./ _

He relaxed. Yami's hand tightened on his thigh and the Pharaoh spoke.

"We would rather see it as hiding in plain sight, both Yugi and Ryou haven't had much to do with the real world in a long time. This is a good opportunity for them to begin to integrate back into society again, while not having to worry about the possibility of being noticed by those who do know them."

The General breathed in deeply. He motioned to Daniel with a tilt of his head.

"As far as I can tell, from what Daniel has told me," General Hammond folded his hands upon the table, "Yugi, you and your darker-half were the Pharaoh who chased the Goa'uld off our planet. I won't claim to understand most of what Daniel has given me in this report, but I will accept it. I've seen enough in this job already to know that not everything is always as it seems. This Stargate is as much yours as it is ours, I figure. Your understanding of its working, the galaxy out there, and of the Goa'uld would right now in our beginning stages, be of vital use."

Yami glanced toward Yugi, then slowly to the General. That seemed logical.

"We have been hoping, General, for an opportunity such as this. Our goal has always been to protect Earth and her people. If that is your goal also, then we will do everything in our power to aid you in that if you yourselves in return aid us in our quest."

"And your quest being?" General Hammond raised an eyebrow.

Ryou laughed, "It is very simple, the Dark Dimension has once again been activated in the population of Earth, our quest is to go forth and continue expanding our horizons for those will come after us. We're immortal." He pressed a hand to his chest, "We need to keep exploring, to expand, to uncover what is beyond that immortality. Earth is our home, we will protect her, but the future is yonder the stars."

Yugi snuggled back into his chair, "Dawn awaits us on another world."

"You hope finding the Truth-gods will help?" Daniel interjected. "With my tablet?"

Yugi spread his hands, "They injected the Shadow Gene into the Human population. If we can uncover their secrets, I'm sure we'll come to understand how this…" he motioned to himself and to Yami, "…became possible. Yami and I always want to know more about how the mechanics of our relationship works. Ryou and Bakura can feel and touch more than we can. Look." Yugi grabbed the nearest pen, thrusting into Bakura's arm.

Ryou reeled back, slapping his hand against his arm. "Yugi! That hurt, you little minx."

"See," Yugi flicked the pen at Ryou. "Isn't that interesting? Did you see that? If you hurt Bakura it rebounds onto Ryou, it's an intercross of their bond. Their connection has evolved of sorts, it's not what I believe to be in its final stage, but they're a step forward. Now you do the same thing to Yami, it doesn't happen to me. I cannot feel anything from Yami's illusory form but a bit of a tingle..." Yugi rubbed his arm subconsciously.

"And you hope you will learn more about your condition, as we all hope in a way to learn more about our own Humanity I suppose—" the General mused, "—through the Stargate."

"All I can say," Yugi smiled, tilting his head back to stare skyward through the gray concrete ceiling, "is that I know the answers lie in the stars."

"Sounds like a good place to start." General Hammond eased to his feet. "You'll be placed on as consultants, the pay is alright, isn't it Daniel?"

Daniel waved a hand about, smirking. "So, so."

"However, before I have you go off-world I would prefer it if you run through the general two months training. I am sure that Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c will be delighted to oversee that."

"Whooo, yay." Jack waved his hands about. "Training."

"Sounds fair sir." Yugi nodded. "And it will give us plenty of time to settle in here."

General Hammond waved to the wall of windows and away to the stairs in a hurried gesture, "Well then, Captain, I believe they're due at the Infirmary first and then you may give them the running tour."

Sam nodded. "Thank you sir." She busied to her feet, grinning wide. "You guys are going to love this!"

"Oh, I am sure we will." Ryou shuffled back his seat, pausing as Bakura's hand folded over his.

He glanced at his darker half. Yugi caught the whisper as Bakura stood, "I'll catch up with you."

Ryou nodded weakly, "Alright."

The dark lord slid past and Yugi ducked as his hair was ruffled playfully. Bakura gripped his cheeks, and Yugi was darn sure that if no one else had been in the room the leering lips would have found the side of his temple.

Instead Bakura winked slyly. /_Don't worry so much, Little Pharaoh./_

_/I'll worry as much as I want!/ _he snapped.

Bakura fluttered his hand aside as he wandered off after General Hammond and vanished into a small office to the side of the briefing room. The door closed behind him, leaving them all behind.

Ryou lifted himself casually, "Bakura will catch up with us. So, where to first Samantha dear?"

"Ah, well. General Hammond would like you both to run through the usual medical exam with Doctor Frasier. She's our Doctor, she's lovely. I know you both must have seen a lot of doctors in your life-time, but I assure you…she's really nice, isn't she Daniel?" Sam ribbed Daniel in the side.

"Oh, yes, she's great!" Daniel chimed.

Yugi swept back his chair, "Well, sounds like a plan. Let's go. Lead on, my friends."

Sam and Daniel headed for the stairs. Yugi flicked a glance back at Jack and Teal'c noticing neither had moved from their chairs. Apparently they were staying right where they were, and by Jack's expression and emotions, he was overly curious about Bakura and the General.

Yugi shrugged, ah well, it was only typical for someone like Jack to be so curious. The man had not become a Colonel for no simple reason, he was actually a smart guy under all his layers.

"Do you want to stay with them," Yugi offered to Yami.

The Pharaoh shook his head. "No, I would rather meet this Doctor and make sure both you and Ryou and treated well."

"That is kind of you Yami." Ryou sighed, taking the stairs.

Yugi slid up beside his fellow Light. "I guess you can't hide it here."

Ryou's eyes blazed a brilliant yellow shine for a brief moment.

"Bakura figured they would do a medical exam." Ryou sighed bitterly, studying the veins under his pale skin. "We came prepared. I just hope…"

Yugi gripped Ryou's arm, pouring into him a flood of emotional support. "Ryou, hey, look, they accepted Teal'c…they'll accept a Methuselah as well."  
"Teal'c doesn't drink blood."

"Neither do you." Yugi wacked Ruou's head, "Moron."

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The door clipped shut after him and Bakura narrowed his lips. This was not one of the strangest situations he had ever found himself in, but he had never been one for diplomacy, that was more the Pharaoh's side of the coin. He was the one who ran into battle, sword held high, swinging and cutting before he used his mouth.

However, in issues regarding the safety of his Light, he had become an expert. Ryou was, after all, _everything_. Once he recalled Tea Anzu having a fit at him, yelling something about how he never seemed to care enough about his darling land-lord. It had been very amusing. What would she, or any of those mortals he had been forced to exist beside, know about caring for the other half of a living Soul made flesh?

The kind of forging of a bond, to be a part of oneself and yet forever forced to exist outside of oneself, could never be understood by an outside party unless they were made privy to it and he and Ryou had never shared the experience with anyone—and too his knowledge—neither had the Pharaoh and the pip-squeak.

The General's office was a small little room, adjacent to the larger briefing room. The old man settled himself into a large arm-chair behind a heavy, wooden desk and tapped a finger upon the surface of the table. Blue eyes glanced in his direction.

"I take it you followed me for a reason? You're the dark one, right?"

"Correct." Bakura pulled a letter free from under his sweater, sliding it across the desk. "This addresses matters on behalf of my Light. I would be grateful if you keep them to yourself, if you feel it's vital that anyone else know the contents therein, please inform me."

There was a spike of sweat that caused the bald head of the General to shine brighter under the artificial light. Bakura studied him as he read the fancy letter Edison had acquired for him. The scent of the Human grew deeper, though not in concern; it was riddled with more curiosity than concern.

General Hammond glanced up, "I may need to inform our head Doctor, Janet Frasier."

Bakura inclined his head. This seemed reasonable.

"Do you trust her?" he questioned sharply.

"With my life, and the life of SG1 and everyone else on the base."

"Then I will abide by your judgment." Bakura narrowed his lips. It was a spirit thing, Yami often said, being able to tell the good-eggs from the bad. One did not need the Scales to judge the Soul of a person when you were a dark lord, it just came naturally, and the man sitting behind the desk before him was a good man. He had done things he was not proud of in his life, but what man had not?

It was strange, this situation, finding himself having to advocate on behalf of his Light. How life changed.

The General peered up, setting his speckles aside. Bakura stirred, hearing the man speak.

"Is he a danger to anyone on this base?"

"Not any more than I am, or you are, or a gun is." Bakura rubbed his chin, "The point of the medication mentioned is to keep him stable, otherwise there wouldn't be any use to it. The Queen is simply asking that he not be put on routine missions until the bacteria is stable in the new environment. It can react to threats if it triggered off by something it feels unfamiliar with." Ryou would despair for a time that the Queen had been so strict, that she had interfered with his life, but her reasoning was sound. The bacteria, when threatened, was viable to become unstable and they had learnt that the hard way.

He might have been an expert at holding back parasites, but there was a vast difference between a Goa'uld and the bacteria of a Methuselah. He had no desire to see his Light suffer, as the dark side of their soul it was his responsibility to make sure Ryou remained brilliant and dazzling, wonderfully radiant and untouched by the darkness that so often could touch their lives. It was the least he could do for being the one who had turned their lives over to Zorc all those centuries ago.

"Her request is acceptable." The General set the letter aside.

Yes it was, Bakura mused, people did not say no to Her Majesty. Ryou was one of the few who dared, and he only managed to do it because there was such a thing as a phone he could scream into.

"Thank you. Ryou is a very learned healer. If you have a medical center here, he will do well there. I have a doctorial in medical science, he knows all I know. Our information goes both ways." Bakura interlinked his hands. "It is a handy thing, having two minds."

The General stood. "I will take that into consideration. You said you were a rogue, is this your rouge side?"

Bakura touched the door frame. "This is what I look like when my Light's well-being is involved. You haven't seen me pissed. Trust me, when either I or the Pharaoh get angry…you won't know us, but don't worry, we _will_ know _you_." He slid out the door, closing it. He did not come into an empty briefing room like he had expected too, Jack and Teal'c greeted him.

"What was that about?" Jack piped up.

Bakura shrugged, shifting past him. "Stuff. Where are the others?"

"Infirmary," Jack pointed to a staircase, "this way."

Why ever the two had remained, he really did not care. He could have just as easily teleported himself to Ryou's side, but due to Jack and Teal'c's presence he was not so rude and followed them through the corridors of the SGC.

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The tour of the SGC had ended hours ago. Daniel had been ecstatic, ending it by having them fill up his small office and they had spent a good while discussing the history of Earth after the Goa'uld had left and what might have happened if they never had. Jack had got bored pretty quickly and left to do something, however both Teal'c and Sam had remained, seemingly interested in the discussion.

Teal'c was difficult to read.

His emotions were impossible to gauge with the Goa'uld larva within him. At first Yugi was sure that was what he found disconcerting about the Jaffa, for he had met very few people that he had never been able to read empathically, but gradually, being in his presence, it became apparent that it really just was the presence of the larva Goa'uld and not the Jaffa.

Teal'c was nice. He even had a bit of a smile when he found something amusing.

Eventually Yugi found his way back to the Gate-Room, not really sure were Ryou and Bakura had gone, or were Daniel was. He and Yami's shadow simply drifted to the sensation of the tugging allure that pulled them in the direction of the Stargate.

The beautiful ring was so majestic; it did not deserve to be buried under a mountain, surrounded by nothing but dull gray concrete walls. Yami's memories had it displayed within a temple, glistening under the gold of the sun, its amethyst shine glittering off marble floors and mammoth columns.

Sliding down a wall Yugi sat, surrounded by the puddle of Yami's shadow. He brushed at his eyes, the color of the gate, as if fate had always been stringing them together.

_/So close Yami/ _He stretched out a hand, grasping at the Stargate. It was peaceful so deep within the missile bunker. This late in the evening, when he guessed shifts in the base were swapping around.

/_We take another step, Aibou./_

He smiled, yes, one more step.

Clothing rustled beside him and he jostled out of his daze.

Jack slid down the wall beside him, collapsing in a dramatic heap.

"Is it everything you dreamed it would be, kid?" The Colonel waved a hand at the gate.

"It is everything and more, Colonel."

"Well then," Jack leaned his head back, "enjoy this break, tomorrow training starts, and don't think that just because you're all royalty that I'll go easy on you."

Yugi barked a laugh, "Never thought you would sir."

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Being a part of Stargate Command had changed Janet Frasier's life dramatically. She had once been a humble military doctor, until the fateful day she had been stationed at the SGC. Then things had gone wild.

She eased back in her chair, tapping the pen on the desk, gazing at the files. Yugi Motou and Ryou Bakura had been the most endearing young men, but their medical exam had been a nightmare. If anything, it had switched on her mother-hen mode—something the Colonel said was the worst and best thing about her. If they had not said anything against it, she would have sworn they had been raised either being physically abused or in some kind of war-zone.

She sighed.

"Doctor Frasier? I thought I ordered you to go home an hour ago?" General Hammond's voice startled her, enough to make her squeak.

Janet jerked up, peering through her loosened hair up at the large man silhouetted by the glow behind him from the doorway into her office.

"Working on a conundrum, sir." She offered. Sometimes she was a lot like Samantha Carter, getting lost in her work, liking the chase that came with something she could not solve. Ryou Bakura was a very interesting case, his blood was like a holy grail of medical science.

"The shadow-boys?"

"Is that what we're calling them?" Janet chuckled.

General Hammond shrugged, easing into the office. He joined her, placing his hands upon the table, gazing over her files.

"How has your quick analysis gone?"

"So far everything they have told Daniel has been true. I am going to have to do a lot more study on it to confirm it, but Yugi could be right, he could very well carry a different strain of genetics and it could explain his abilities. He has obviously done a lot of research into it himself."

"And Ryou?"

Janet breathed out sharply, "I honestly don't know what to say, General." She spread her hands, "I wouldn't know where to even begin. Whatever is inside of him is so advanced half our instruments are refusing to admit there is even an abnormality. It's almost as if it's…"

"Alive?" Hammond whispered.

"Yes." She nodded in agreement. "Like it knows it is being studied and is concealing itself."

"Interesting."

"I'd say." Janet leant back, "Well, the letter said the bacteria would only react if the host was threatened and if it comes in contact with silver or ultra-violet rays. Otherwise, General, it is truly an incredible thing."

"But you do not think he is a danger?"

Now they were getting down to the key point. She shook her head. "In my medical opinion sir, until Ryou reveals an incapability to maintain control, how can we judge?"

The General nodded. "Alright, keep him under your nose, Doctor."

"I will, sir." She stood, inclining her head.

"Have these files ready—"

"Actually, sir," Janet touched the files on her desk. "I would rather we don't put this on record. These young men deserve some peace and quiet for a bit. Their bodies have taken enough beatings. I will write up the files, but would it be possible to keep them between you and me, for the time being."

General Hammond studied her for a moment, his brow raised, creasing his bald head. Slowly he relaxed and he gave her a gentle smile of warm comfort. "Yes."

He turned, "Now, Janet," it was his grandfatherly tone, the one he used on her when he was worried, and when he was not being a General, "go home and get some rest."

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Sam hummed as she carried the tray down the corridor. The hot pot of tea was steaming, flushing her cheeks. She had really thought the day had gone rather well. The General had seemed to like both Yugi and Ryou, so it seemed Jack and Daniel and done a good job explaining the whole situation to him.

Finally, for once, the two of them had done something right. It was a miracle! She chuckled inwardly.

Coming to the bedroom door Sam stared at it awhile. Ryou was a glutton for tea, that much she was very aware of. Bakura had piled a stack of it into her kitchen cupboard and placed down the current beautiful bone-china tea-set she was carrying. She wondered just how much it was worth.

The house was so quiet.

She shook her head, raised her hand quickly and tapped lightly on the door.

"Ryou? Bakura?" She was not really sure which one she was supposed to ask for.

A shadow flickered under her feet and she stepped back, watching as it darted up the wall and displayed a pattern before fluttering away down the hall.

A voice called out, it was defiantly Ryou's.

"You can come in, Samantha dear. The door is unlocked."

She pulled down the handle, easing the door open with her foot. Warm light flooded into the corridor, and with it, heat. Apparently Ryou liked to be warm. She blinked, startled that her spare bedroom could look so different. Nothing had really changed, just the bedding, there was a new desk to one side, and a rug under her slippers but it looked so…different. It was as if Ryou's presence inside of it just changed the entire environment.

The English lord sat in the middle of the bed, surrounded by open documents. He wore a heavy knitted white dressing gown, that once, she imagined, would have matched so wonderfully with his long flaxen hair. She set the tea-tray down on the desk.

Ryou peered up, brushing aside his brown bangs and gave her a warm smile.

"Oh, you did not have to bring me tea. Goodness Samantha, Bakura is my maid, not you."

"It is such a lovely tea-set, I figured I should try to use it."

"It was my mothers." Ryou tossed a bunch of photos aside. "It is Bakura's favorite set for some reason."

Sam brushed a finger over the handle of the tea-pot. Ryou's mother, so Ryou had not just popped into existence then.

"No, Samantha dear, I had a mother, and was born kicking and screaming just like you."

"Stop reading my mind."

"You have a very noisy head." He pointed. "Not surprising, considering you are a scientist and think so much. Do not worry, Yugi has a very noisy head too."

She wandered toward the bed, studying the documents scattered over the plush covering.

"What…are…theses?" They looked like internet printouts and newspaper clippings.

Ryou rubbed the bridge of his nose. "To be utterly honest, this is work. I am actually not a free-man, I am a Lord, remember, of the British Empire. I get cases that sometimes need dealing with. This is a new one that just came up, doing a bit of research and what-not." He fluttered a hand in the air. "Boring stuff."

"It does not look boring."

"Oh, it is." He flopped back dramatically into the soft pillows. "We could be doing something so much more interesting right now, is that not right Bakura dear."

"Where is Bakura?"

Bakura's head appeared over the edge of the bed, "I'm here."

Sam pouted, "Why are you hiding down there?"

"Because there is no room on the bed, besides, the heater is on down here. My toes are cold." His head vanished again.

Ryou gave her a glance over the edges of his glasses, "He's reading up on the American Air Force, trying to get a board overview or something like that." The light popped open his laptop. "You're very welcome to join us, we are just going to be working all evening. Or in Bakura's case, lying there like a lazy bum. Bakura, you do not even get cold—"

"Your feet are cold, so mine are. Thus I am warming your feet," the spirit retorted.

Sam laughed softly. Her mind rolled back to her cold, lonely office. The mission reports she had to catch up on, in some awful way, she was just as bad as the Colonel, she just never admitted it, and she was just so was better at quickly scribbling something down.

This little room, with the warm lighting that was somehow made all the more inviting by the tiny heater that Bakura must have brought all the way over from England, felt safer and more comforting than her bitter, dark office and the large, frightful house outside.

"I'll…go get my laptop. I've really backed up my mission reports."

Ryou was pouring his tea, "Hear that Bakura, you are not going to be the only one."

"Whatever. Give me tea."

"I am not your slave, Bakura. Get up and pour it yourself."

"No. If I am your maid, you are my slave."

"Fair enough point."

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Yugi collapsed onto the couch. Ohhh, it was such a comfortable couch. How he loved this couch. It was so snuggly—actually—wait—that was gross, it smelt like beer. He sat up, a bit too fast, feeling a queasiness rush through him and he slouched onto the floor as his vision blacked out.

Hands caught him and he was pressed into Yami's solid chest. He slapped his hand onto the fabric of the oh-so nice cotton shirt.

"Why do you have rock-hard abs and I have to like, a hundred sit-ups in the morning to keep whatever muscles I have."

"Because I am a shapeshifting spirit and can appear however I so please."

"I hate you."

"I know."

"When the General said two months of training, I thought, oh yeah. I can totally do that. What I didn't realize was…holy, freaking Isis! I am so unfit!" He grabbed Yami's shoulders, shaking the king. "What do they make these cadets do all their lives, run for miles around an oval? I feel like I am doing to die and I have been running for half of my life."

"Well, put it this way," Yami set him back on the couch, handing him a coke, "you've put on a couple of pounds of muscle, which for you, is an achievement, considering you haven't got any."

"Do you want me to kick you out of the bed tonight?"

"You guys sleep in the same bed?" Jack's head appeared around the small window-bar between the living room and the kitchen, a grin on his far-too-happy face. Yugi grabbed the nearest pillow, ditching it at the Colonel. It did not make it past the coffee-table.

"Hmmm, kid, your aim with a gun is better than your aim with a pillow."

Yugi moaned. "Jack, your couch smells like beer and my arms hurt so leave me alone. I am dead."

"No, that's the other you."

"Shut up!"

"Stop whining kid."

"I skipped my teenage years, so I'm going to whine now."

Jack popped out the door, skipping down the stairs into the sunken living-room. He held out a bowl of take-away to Yami and stared down at Yugi collapsed over the couch.

"Is he always like this?"

"The only other time he was like this was after he trained with a friend of ours in martial arts. He broke a couple ribs. I believe it a result of being in pain, he gets cranky."

"I am not cranky." Yugi raised a hand. "Give me the food—"

"—And demanding." The king raised an eyebrow.

"And get me some pain-killers."

Yami set the bowl down, lifting his eyebrows at Jack. "As I said, demanding. Actually, he's just like I was when I was his age."

"Yami, I swear I will kill you again if you say that one more time."

Yami vanished quickly.

Jack chuckled at the act. He collapsed into his seat, finding the television remote.

"Come on kid, it's over. You did it, you passed all the tests."

"I had to swim the length of five swimming pools."

"Which Ryou did perfectly, might I add." Jack pointed with his chop-sticks.

Yugi made a face. "He has a swimmers body, it helps."

"You're so jealous."

"Whatever." Yugi found his bowl, cracking the chop-sticks. He curled up his legs, so glad for the smooth, silk pants Yami had brought him. He flicked his gaze at the television. Over the two months crashing at the Colonel's house he had come to understand two things, Jack ate a lot of take-away food and Jack loved The Simpsons. These were the very simple things of a very complex man that made up the Colonel.

He was a gentle soul under his crust though and Yugi found himself becoming terribly fond of him. If it were not for Yami's distinct memories of the time period telling him otherwise, he could have sworn Jack reminded him of one of his old trainers from the Pharaoh's childhood, but alas, it was no so. Anyhow, he stuck to that, and kept that close to his own heart. After all, Yami could have his own past and he had his future—Jack was in his.

Contently he nibbled on his food, grateful the trails of the past month were finally over. Though, to be honest, what lay ahead was possibly going to be even more trailing.

_/Still, Aibou, at least we haven't had to deal with any troubling visitors…it has been rather peaceful./ _Yami exited the kitchen, hopping down the stairs into the living-room. The Pharaoh elegantly seated himself beside him on the couch, handing over two pills.

Yugi snuggled up to him, accepting the medication.

_/Thanks./_

_/Thank Bakura./ _Yami tugged him close, _/he was worried about you./_

_/Sheesh, he worries more than you do./_

_/No…he just shows it, because you're not his Light./_

That was an interesting thought if ever there was one. Yugi filed it aside for later reference. He was, right now, too tired too sore to think long and hard over things. In fact, it would not have surprised him if very soon, he found himself asleep and in the dreamscape of the Egyptian desert that he wandered nightly, always looking for the answers to the questions he did not know to ask.

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_Hey folks!_

_So….not as long as my usual updates. Sorry about that!_

_But I hope you enjoyed it none-the-less._

_We start missions next! Yay!_

_Thanks for sticking with me. Your continued support of my writing and my stories helps me get through my days. Any feedback is so welcome. As usual, you can find me on Tumblr, Facebook and Youtube – links are on my profile page. I look forward to seeing you around the web!_

_Still no update on my novel, sadly…that front cover artist is just not budging. Alas. Many tears have been shed, but that's the publishing world XD _

_I jolly well hope it's worth the wait though, LOL, I'm even trying to make it possible that you can get signed copies if you want, and hand-made Sam plushies for order! You can actually buy those now if you like through my Tumblr. XD I just haven't got around to pinning up a sign for them. I always run out of time._

_Anyhow, _

_Keep well dear readers._

_You are all so wonderful and bring me so many blessings with your continued support._

_THANK YOU!_

_KL_


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